Deck 4: Mass Media Industries: the Economic Game

Question 1

The group of players who exchange time and money for media space and access to audiences is

A) media companies.
B) above-the-line employees.
C) below-the-line employees.
D) advertisers.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The most central rule to the economic game is that to play, you must

A) be media literate.
B) have proven your effectiveness in past exchange situations.
C) have resources and a willingness to exchange them.
D) have enough money to break barriers to entry

Answer 2

C

Question 3

About how much money does the average person in the United States spend on media each year?

A) $80
B) $300
C) $1,000
D) $5,000

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the text, what is the engine that drives the growth of media industries?

A) Consumers
B) Advertising
C) Investors
D) Niche audiences

Question 5

Media businesses compete in the

A) talent market.
B) audience market.
C) advertising market.
D) All of the above

Question 6

According to the text, if we, as consumers, don't play the media game well,

A) we will get shortchanged on our expenditure of time.
B) we will get shortchanged on our expenditure of money.
C) we will make poor economic exchanges.
D) All of the above

Question 7

Why is advertising so important to our economy?

A) Because of the decline in the proportion of farmers and blue-collar workers
B) Because of a high level of employment
C) Because of an increase in the standard of living
D) All of the above

Question 8

Profit has often been defined by specialists as the difference between company's revenue and

A) price margins.
B) investments.
C) assets.
D) expenses.

Question 9

Within the media economic game, the exchange value for media businesses, advertisers, and media employees is measured

A) individually.
B) aggregately.
C) qualitatively.
D) quantitatively.

Question 10

Which of the following are ways that media companies maximize profit?

A) Increasing revenue streams
B) Reducing expenses through economies of scale
C) Capitalizing on economies of scope
D) All of the above

Question 11

For all types of players involved in the economic game that pertains to the media, the main goal is to

A) engage in exchanges with all other groups of players.
B) maximize the value of exchange for themselves.
C) spend the least amount of money.
D) hire the most talented employees.

Question 12

The three major strategies mass media businesses use to be successful are

A) increasing profits, competing against other media organizations, and finding new revenue streams.
B) maximizing profits, constructing audiences, and reducing risk.
C) maximizing profits, pleasing consumers, and expanding to other countries.
D) None of the above

Question 13

The media pay people with a lot of talent a lot of money and clerical staff as little as possible. This is because media organizations try to

A) increase revenue streams.
B) minimize expenses.
C) attract people to niche audiences.
D) minimize risk.

Question 14

In the mass media industries, talent is viewed primarily as

A) artistic ability.
B) the ability to attract large audiences.
C) one's natural ability to sing or act.
D) a combination of intelligence and creativity.

Question 15

Below-the-line employees are those employees in media companies who

A) use fairly common skills to perform their jobs.
B) earn less than $100,000 per year.
C) do not have college degrees.
D) do not own a portion of the company.

Question 16

The players in the media economic game include

A) advertisers and media companies only.
B) consumers, advertisers, and media companies only.
C) consumers, advertisers, media companies, and employees of media companies.
D) advertisers, media companies, employees of media companies, and investors.

Question 17

What proportion of advertising money is going to online advertising?

A) More than 25%
B) Around 15%
C) More than 10%
D) Around 5%

Question 18

In 2012, how much money was spent on all forms of advertising?

A) 500 million dollars
B) 2 billion dollars
C) 60 billion dollars
D) 245 billion dollars

Question 19

After producing a movie, a film studio sells it on DVD, leases it to airline companies for showing during flights, and sells artifacts related to it. These are ways to

A) increase revenue streams.
B) minimize expenses.
C) attract people to niche audiences.
D) minimize risk.

Question 20

About how much time does the average person in the United States spend on media each year?

A) 35 hours
B) 350 hours
C) 3,500 hours
D) There are no statistics available.

Question 21

To minimize expenses, media companies pay above-the-line employees as little as possible (near minimum wage).

Question 22

Advertising is the engine that drives the growth in the media industries.

Question 23

Media organizations develop sequels of successful shows as a way to

A) be nice to actors.
B) construct audiences.
C) minimize risk.
D) None of the above

Question 24

Today, media businesses do research first and product development second. This is because these media businesses try to

A) increase revenue streams.
B) minimize expenses.
C) attract people to niche audiences.
D) minimize risk.

Question 25

The benefits received from your exposure to media are typically the resources of

A) money and time.
B) information and entertainment.
C) media literacy and critical thinking.
D) All of the above

Question 26

Within the economic media game, value is computed in the same way for different players.

Question 27

When a media company becomes a conglomerate, it increases its revenue streams.

Question 28

The radio and magazine industries have been very successful in attracting people to a niche audience.

Question 29

The economic media game has a definite beginning and end.

Question 30

The more you are thinking of your media expenditures and the value you are receiving in return,

A) the less you will invest in the media.
B) the more satisfied you will be with the media you consume.
C) the less satisfied you will be with the media you consume.
D) the more you are thinking from a media literacy perspective.

Question 31

By conducting a cost-benefit analysis of your media exposure, you increase your media literacy

Question 32

A movie company spends a great deal of money producing a film. Once they finish production, they spend a little extra money recording it on DVD and Blu-ray. This is an example of

A) economies of scale.
B) economies of scope.
C) distribution integration.
D) vertical spending.

Question 33

One radio station transmits only rap music enjoyed by youth and another radio station broadcasts only golden oldies enjoyed by elderly people. This is because these media organizations attempt to

A) increase revenue streams.
B) minimize expenses.
C) attract people to niche audiences.
D) minimize risk.

Question 34

If consumers pulled out of the economic media game, the game would collapse.

Question 35

Once a media company constructs an audience, the next step is to

A) construct a second audience.
B) condition audience members so they develop a habit of exposure.
C) conduct market research.
D) None of the above

Question 36

If you get from the media more information and entertainment that you expect, you regard yourself as which element of the economic game?

A) Net winner
B) Net loser
C) Average consumer
D) None of the above

Question 37

There is a simple, uncomplicated interdependence among players in the media.

Question 38

In addition to asking yourself what are the benefits of your media exposure, to increase your media literacy you also have to ask yourself

A) what are the benefits of your friends from media exposure.
B) how good are your standards.
C) what are the benefits of media companies.
D) None of the above

Question 39

As individuals, we do not have the power to alter the economic media game significantly for ourselves.

Question 40

With the marketing concept, managers

A) identify niche audiences.
B) find out what audience needs are unmet.
C) begin with market research and follow research with product development.
D) All of the above

Question 41

List and describe the three strategies media companies use to succeed in the economic game and achieve their goals.

Question 42

Discuss how understanding the mass media economic game can help increase your media literacy.

Question 43

Discuss how advertising drives the growth of the media industries.

Question 44

Discuss the goal of the mass media economic game.

Question 45

List and describe the four types of players of the mass media economic game.