Government by The People 2014 Elections and Updates Edition 25th Edition Magleby Test Bank

Government By the People 2014
Elections and Updates Edition 25th

Edition Magleby Test Bank
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9
The Media and U.S. Politics
 Multiple-Choice Questions
1. The Internet began as a(n) __________.
a. bet between two math professors

b. outgrowth of IBM’s interest in computers
c. military project in the 1960s
d. project by Google
Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q9.1.1
Topic: The Influence of the Media on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 9.1: Describe changes in the nature and extent of the
political influence of the various news media.
Page Reference: 271
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. In the last half century, ___________ have become a more important source of
information about candidates and issues.
a. newspapers
b. television news stories
c. television commercials
d. political mailings
Answer: c
Page Reference: 268
273
3. The average American watches approximately__________ hour(s) of television a

day.
a. one
b. three
c. five
d. six
Answer: c
Page Reference: 268
4. New York Tribune editor Whitelaw Reid saw __________ as the watchword of a
new breed of objective journalist in the early twentieth century.
a. independent journalism
b. yellow journalism
c. accurate writing
d. new journalism
Answer: a
Topic: The Changing Role of the U.S. News Media
Learning Objective: LO 9.2: Trace the evolution of the news media over the
course of U.S. history.
Page Reference: 273
5. As the print press media became less tied to political parties, candidates in the
1930s relied more on __________ to communicate personally with voters.
a. campaign flyers
b. radio
c. public speeches
d. door-to-door campaigning
Answer: b
274
Page Reference: 274
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
6. The role media played in revealing the National Security Administration’s secret
surveillance operation is an example of __________ journalism.
a. new
b. investigatory
c. television
d. gonzo
Answer: b
Page Reference: 275
Difficulty Level: Moderate
7. The __________ is an independent regulatory agency charged with licensing

television and radio stations.
a. EPA
b. FDA
c. FCC
d. FED
Answer: c
Page Reference: 277
8. Fragmentation of the media audience has tended to __________.
a. counteract the impact of media conglomeration

b. increase the probability of media becoming more concentrated
275
c. create situations in which the media dictate what is right and wrong
d. make the audience less concerned with whether the information is true
Answer: a
Topic: The Media and Public Opinion
Learning Objective: LO 9.3: Evaluate the media’s influence on public opinion
and attention.
Page Reference: 282
9. How has television coverage of politics changed over time?
a. Television stations now devote more time to reporting on Congress.

b. Television stations now devote less time to reporting on elections.
c. Television coverage of politics has become increasingly liberal.
d. Television coverage of politics now focuses more on policymaking.
Answer: b
Page Reference: 268
10. Small groups of people who are asked questions about candidates and issues in a
discussion setting are known as __________.
a. task-oriented groups
b. buzz groups
c. issue groups
d. focus groups
Answer: d
Topic: The Media and Elections
Learning Objective: LO 9.4: Describe the media’s role in elections and the
associated problems and benefits.
Page Reference: 268
11. In which type of election is news coverage likely to be most influential?
276
a. a city council election
b. a House race
c. a Senate race
d. a presidential election
Answer: a
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult
12. The network news is reporting that a prominent U.S. Senate race is very close,
with the polls showing that the incumbent leads the challenger by just two
percentage points. This is an example of what type of news coverage?
a. horse race coverage

b. yellow journalism
c. non-substantive
d. partisan-based
Answer: a
Page Reference: 287
13. The media’s power to set the agenda is limited by __________.
a. the audience and the nature of any particular issue

b. the fact that people rarely pay attention to media
c. rules set by the FCC
d. the 24/7 news cycle
Answer: a
and attention.
Page Reference: 279
277
Skill Level: Analyze It
14. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has as its mission to inform the
public of _________.
a. their role as media consumers

b. talk radio’s deleterious influence
c. bias in the media at large
d. high journalistic standards and where to find them
Answer: c
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
15. Which of the following depends least on the press for political support?
a. the Supreme Court

b. the executive branch
c. the Senate
d. the House of Representatives
Answer: a
Topic: The Media and Governance
Learning Objective: LO 9.5: Assess the media’s relationship to governance in
the United States.
Page Reference: 289 – 290
16. Internet piracy legislation has been proposed as a way to prevent __________
theft.
a. personal property
b. intellectual property
c. identity
d. patent
Answer: b
278
Page Reference: 283
17. The majority of Americans sees the press as __________.
a. biased toward a particular political party

b. more conservative than liberal
c. a watchdog over the government
d. unlikely to mold public opinion
Answer: c
the United States.
Page Reference: 290
18. What do most campaign consultants believe about negative campaigning?
a. that it is less effective than positive advertising

b. that it galvanizes the opposition
c. that it suppresses voter turnout
d. that it is effective
Answer: d
Page Reference: 287
19. More than any other invention, __________ has changed U.S. politics.
a. the printing press

b. Facebook
c. television
d. radio
279
Answer: c
Page Reference: 267
20. The decline in newspaper readership is especially pronounced among

__________.
a. young people
b. nonvoters
c. the elderly
d. Independent voters
Answer: a
Page Reference: 270
21. In the modern history of investigatory journalism, the code name that is
associated with Mark Felt is which of the following?
a. Tricky Dick
b. Carl Bernstein
c. Space Ghost
d. Deep Throat
Answer: d
Page Reference: 275
22. During the period between 1820 and 1830, newspapers began to shift their appeal
away from an upper-class, English-speaking readership to which demographic
group?
280
a. the carriage trade
b. the merchant class
c. common men and women
d. Abolitionists
Answer: c
Page Reference: 273
23. The __________ enabled newspapers to be more financially independent, moving

away from the financial support of political parties to profit from an expanded
circulation and advertising.
a. reliance on home delivery

b. yearly subscription fees
c. penny press
d. quarterly subscription fees
Answer: c
Page Reference: 273
24. When a gun owner does not agree with an editorial writer’s call for a ban on
assault rifles, it can be attributed, in part, to her __________.
a. regionalism
b. selective exposure
c. lack of education
d. selective perception
Answer: d
and attention.
281
Page Reference: 281
25. President Barrack Obama __________ because his campaign understood that
younger voters get most of their information and news this way.
a. participated in television debates

b. appeared on as many magazine covers as possible
c. reached out to voters via the Internet
d. wrote two memoirs
Answer: c
Page Reference: 272
26. What was the original motivation for the creation of the Internet?
a. to create a communications network that could survive a nuclear attack

b. to create new revenue sources for media conglomerates
c. to facilitate communication between government and citizens
d. to enable large scale social networking
Answer: a
Page Reference: 271
27. What is the top circulating U.S. newspaper?
a. USA Today
b. the Wall Street Journal
c. the New York Times
d. the Washington Post
Answer: b
282
Page Reference: 271
28. When politicians try to influence the “spin” the media give to their actions or
issues, they engage in which of these?
a. issue control
b. issue framing
c. media control
d. issue politicizing
Answer: b
and attention.
Page Reference: 280
29. When individuals perceive only what they want to in the media, it is known as
__________.
a. political association
b. political bias
c. selective perception
d. biased perception
Answer: c
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
30. The greatest amount of news coverage during political campaigns occurs in which
type of race?
a. state legislative
b. governor
283
c. presidential
d. congressional
Answer: c
Page Reference: 283
31. What impact did wire services have on the content of news?
a. They led to greater sensationalism in news coverage.

b. They led to greater emphasis on local news.
c. They further strengthened the trend toward objectivity.
d. They led to a decrease in coverage of elections.
Answer: c
Page Reference: 274
32. Many political and campaign events do not receive attention from the media
because news outlets do not consider them to be __________.
a. framed
b. newsworthy
c. opportunistic
d. transparent
Answer: b
Page Reference: 284
284
33. Because of 24/7 news cycles and on-the-spot reporting, many citizens feel their
elected leaders should make decisions in what manner?
a. intelligently
b. deliberately
c. instantly
d. collaboratively
Answer: c
the United States.
Page Reference: 288
34. George W. Bush’s decision to embed reporters in the Iraq War was an example of
an elected official __________ the news coverage.
a. manipulating
b. exposing
c. clarifying
d. repudiating
Answer: a
the United States.
Page Reference: 288
35. Unlike the Supreme Court or the president, what kind of news coverage is
Congress likely to receive?
a. sporadic
b. positive
c. negative
d. balanced
Answer: c
285
the United States.
Page Reference: 289
36. A minority reporter would be most likely to work at which of the following
outlets?
a. a local television station

b. a local newspaper
c. a national newspaper
d. a radio station
Answer: c
Page Reference: 276
37. Newsweek, CNN, Fox News, the New York Times, National Public Radio, and the
Daily Dish blog are all examples of what?
a. biased media
b. objective media
c. mass media
d. self-regulation
Answer: c
Page Reference: 266
38. Media outlets that tell people what is happening in the world, regardless of the
level of entertainment, are known as __________.
a. infotainment
b. objective journalism
c. news media
286
d. subjective journalism
Answer: c
Page Reference: 266
39. How do the majority of people sometimes feel about the quality of news received
via the Internet?
a. skeptical
b. reassured
c. disinterested
d. informed
Answer: a
Page Reference: 267
40. Rupert Murdoch’s ownership of numerous television stations, newspapers, and

other media companies is an example of __________.
a. the privatization of the news

b. pack journalism
c. media consolidation
d. media fragmentation
Answer: c
287
41. Before the advent of objective journalism in the early twentieth century,
__________ focused on exaggeration and sensationalism.
a. yellow journalism
b. party journalism
c. junk journalism
d. biased journalism
Answer: a
Page Reference: 273
42. The process by which individuals develop their political attitudes, values, and
beliefs is called __________.
a. political socialization
b. social development
c. cultural assimilation
d. peer influence
Answer: a
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
43. The FCC fined CBS in 2004 for what infamous television violation?
a. swearing at the Super Bowl half-time show

b. swearing at the World Series opening ceremony
c. nudity at the Super Bowl half-time show
d. nudity at the World Series opening ceremony
Answer: c
288
Page Reference: 277
44. Most U.S. news media are committed to __________.
a. expressing liberal viewpoints

b. being unbiased
c. expressing conservative viewpoints
d. providing international coverage
Answer: b
and attention.
Page Reference: 280
45. Some of those who object to free trade with China are drawing attention to
Chinese human rights abuses. This type of action is known as what?
a. socializing
b. issue framing
c. media bias
e. political socialization
Answer: b
and attention.
Page Reference: 280
46. The increasing use of television advertising has added to the __________ in
political campaigns.
a. drama
b. clout
c. costs
d. bias
Answer: c
289
Page Reference: 284
47. Image making in politics has resulted in an increased number of what?
a. journalists
b. CEOs
c. political contributions
d. media consultants
Answer: d
Page Reference: 286
48. What political actor is considered newsworthy in any public activity, regardless of
whether it has a political function?
a. the president
b. the Senate majority leader
c. the vice president
d. the Speaker of the House
Answer: a
the United States.
Page Reference: 288
49. What television network provides uninterrupted coverage of congressional

deliberations and presidential nominating conventions?
a. CNN
b. C-SPAN
290
c. MSNBC
d. CBS
Answer: b
Page Reference: 275
50. One concern raised by proposals to crack down on Internet piracy is that it might
__________.
a. limit people’s access to the Internet

b. lead to censorship
c. inadvertently cause the Internet to crash
d. accelerate media consolidation
Answer: b
Page Reference: 283
51. Which type of media, with its immediacy, visual imagery, and drama, has an
emotional impact that cuts across age groups, educational levels, social classes,
and races?
a. newspapers
b. newsmagazines
c. the Internet
d. television
Answer: d
291
52. Which of the following is true of network news programs on ABC, CBS, and
NBC?
a. Viewership has decreased dramatically since the late 1980s.

b. They have been surpassed by cable news in terms of viewership.
c. They are biased in a liberal direction.
d. They provide more comprehensive coverage than radio programs.
Answer: a
Page Reference: 268
53. In terms of media consumption, how does the United States differ from other
countries?
a. A higher percentage of Americans turn to the Internet for news.

b. A higher percentage of Americans rely on the radio for news and information.
c. A lower percentage of Americans pay attention to political news.
d. A lower percentage of Americans read newspapers.
Answer: a
Page Reference: 269
54. Recent FCC rulings have produced a trend in media __________.
a. independence
b. regulation
c. conglomeration
d. bias
Answer: c
292
Page Reference: 277
55. How did the penny press alter the content of news?
a. It led to more political coverage.

b. It led to an increase in human-interest stories.
c. It led to more objectivity in news coverage.
d. It led to more liberal news coverage.
Answer: b
Page Reference: 273
56. When did the era of “objective journalism” begin?
a. in the early 1800s

b. in the 1870s
c. in the early twentieth century
d. in the 1950s
Answer: c
Page Reference: 273
57. How has competition from cable news stations influenced broadcast news
coverage?
a. It has led broadcast news to boost its entertainment value.

b. It has led broadcast news to provide extended news coverage.
c. It has led broadcast news to adopt an ideological perspective.
d. It has led broadcast news to provide more objective news coverage.
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Answer: a
Page Reference: 268
58. Using a photo op and a large gathering of supporters to convey a specific message
as to whom the candidate really is, the politician is creating which of these?
a. a social event
b. a campaign event
c. a television operation
d. a horse race
Answer: b
Page Reference: 284
59. On election day, __________ inform(s) the public about who voted and why they
voted the way they did.
a. media consultants
b. campaign events
c. exit polls
d. the horse race
Answer: c
Page Reference: 288
60. Outside of family, the media are one of the strongest factors in __________.
a. political socialization
294
b. objectivity
c. the horse race
d. selective perception
Answer: a
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
True-False Questions
61. Mass media by definition disseminate messages to a large audience for a profit.
Answer: TRUE
Page Reference: 266
62. President Obama used the presidential press conference more than any other
president.
Answer: FALSE
the United States.
Page Reference: 289
63. During the 1820s and 1830s, newspapers began shifting their appeal from the elite
toward the masses.
Answer: TRUE
295
Page Reference: 273
64. Exaggeration and sensationalism are often associated with yellow journalism.
Answer: TRUE
Page Reference: 273
65. U.S. public opinion is not influenced by the images and events covered by
television.
Answer: FALSE
and attention.
Page Reference: 278
66. Campaign advertising has recently taken on a much more positive tone with
regard to the opposing candidate.
Answer: FALSE
Page Reference: 287
67. Most Americans believe that the media are a valuable watchdog over government.
Answer: TRUE
296
the United States.
Page Reference: 290
68. Political campaigns no longer use radio to communicate with voters.
Answer: FALSE
Page Reference: 270
69. The growth of the Internet has led to fragmentation of media audiences.
Answer: TRUE
and attention.
Page Reference: 282
70. Selective perception is the process by which we pick our political attitudes,
values, and beliefs.
Answer: FALSE
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
71. Media consultants are playing an increasingly important role in political

campaigns.
Answer: TRUE
297
Page Reference: 286
72. Of the three branches of government, the executive branch depends least on the
press.
Answer: FALSE
the United States.
Page Reference: 289
73. The Internet and social media have become increasingly important largely
because they are easily accessible.
Answer: TRUE
Page Reference: 267
74. Politicians are friendly with the press in part because of the level of influence the
media have on the voting public.
Answer: TRUE
and attention.
Page Reference: 280
75. For a potential candidate, looking and sounding good on television are
increasingly important.
298
Answer: TRUE
Page Reference: 284
 Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
76. The television networks ABC, NBC, and CBS are known as __________.
Answer: the big three

Page Reference: 268
77. Party identification acts as a(n) __________ through which people view the
media.
Answer: filter
and attention.
Page Reference: 281
78. The nickname __________ was given to Ronald Reagan.
Answer: the “Great Communicator”

and attention.
Page Reference: 279
299
79. Before the ___________, all news that was reported was political.
Answer: penny press

Page Reference: 273
80. The primary responsibility of a(n) __________ is to provide a positive image of

the candidate and to reinforce negative images of the opponent.
Answer: media consultant

Page Reference: 286
81. __________ of types of media used in campaigns lessens the ability of any one
medium to influence election outcomes.
Answer: Diversification
Page Reference: 283
82. The Supreme Court does not allow the use of ___________ to cover oral
arguments.
Answer: television cameras

the United States.
300
83. Newspapers, the Internet, and radio are all examples of __________.
Answer: mass media

Page Reference: 266
84. The first newspapers in the early 1800s were run by __________.
Answer: political parties

Page Reference: 273
85. The commercial tradition of exaggeration and sensationalism in selling

newspapers is called __________.
Answer: yellow journalism

Page Reference: 273
86. All serious candidates today have ___________ to make their positions and
policies accessible to the electorate via the computer.
Answer: Web sites

Page Reference: 272
301
87. __________ held the largest number of press conferences of any president in U.S.
history.
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

the United States.
Page Reference: 289
88. When Walter Mondale famously said that he would give up the right to veto any
law Congress sent him for media access, he was simply acknowledging the power
of __________ news during the 1970s and 1980s.
Answer: television
and attention.
Page Reference: 279
89. __________ often has far more impact on our opinions than the information or
views we get from an impersonal television program or newspaper article.
Answer: Peer pressure

and attention.
Page Reference: 281
90. Although the media insist that they pay attention to all candidates who have a
__________ to win, they also influence who gets such an opportunity.
Answer: chance
302
Page Reference: 284
 Short Answer Questions
91. What forms of media make up news media, and what has recently changed for
each of them?
Answer: An ideal response will:

1. Describe the different forms of news media including print media,
television, radio, and electronic media such as the Internet and social
media sites.
2. Explain how the print media have struggled to keep readership
numbers, while television and radio remain persistent in their reach to the
American public.
3. Discuss how the rapid growth of the Internet and social media sites has
greatly increased the ability of Americans to connect to each other in
addition to accessing news information quickly.

Page Reference: 266 – 268, 270 – 272
92. What is investigatory journalism, and what is its role in political reporting?

1. Explain that investigatory journalism is an outgrowth of the media’s
watchdog responsibility to expose corruption, wrongdoing, and
malfeasance by government and politicians.
2. Explain how investigatory reporting helps keep government
accountable to citizens, drawing upon specific examples such as the
Washington Post exposure of Watergate or the 60 Minutes report on the
torture of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.

303
Page Reference: 275
93. For many younger people, the era of the “big three” took place in the past.
Describe the new norm of 24/7 news and explain why it exists.

1. Explain the rise in news consumption.
2. List and describe the technologies that make such a cycle possible.

Page Reference: 268
94. Define and explain the role of agenda setting.

1. Define agenda setting as the media helping to determine what topics
will become the subject of public debate and legislation by drawing the
public’s attention to certain issues.
2. Note that while the media can help set the national agenda and spur
public discussion, they do not have absolute power and are limited by the
nature of the issues and the audience.

95. Explain the concept of yellow journalism. What type of new journalism did it give
rise to?

1. Explain that yellow journalism was a development in the newspaper
industry in the late nineteenth century that sought to appeal to new
304
immigrants and a mass population by relying on comics, color, and
sensationalism.
2. Discuss how the sensationalism of yellow journalism gave rise to
objective journalism, the sentiment that the media should be independent
and focus on facts, not exaggeration.

96. Explain campaign events. Why do political candidates stage these events, and
why do media sometimes choose not to cover them?

1. Define campaign events as scheduled events, such as press conferences
and interviews, that reinforce a candidate’s messages and public image.
2. Explain that candidates stage these events hoping to reach voters
through favorable media coverage.
3. Note that the media do not necessarily consider these events
newsworthy, or they believe they are too staged, and sometimes choose
not to cover them.

Page Reference: 284
97. What is media bias? In your opinion, is the media biased? Give concrete examples
and relate them to what you’ve learned.

1. Explain that media bias is the concern that the major media outlets
exhibit an ideological slant that affects the content of the news they
deliver.
2. Provide an argument as to whether or not the student thinks the media
exhibit bias, drawing upon specific examples such as the perceived bias of
Fox News, the New York Times, MSNBC, or AM talk radio.
3. Relate this argument and the accompanying examples back to the
discussion in the book.
305
and attention.
98. Explain audience fragmentation. Is it a good thing or not? What are some positive
and negative consequences of it?

1. Define audience fragmentation as the scattering of audiences across
multiple press outlets due to the growth of cable television and the Internet
and the subsequent specialization of the media content for those venues.
2. Make a clear argument for why fragmentation is or is not beneficial by
illustrating the benefits of fragmentation (diffuses the influence of the
media, works against the effects of conglomeration) versus the costs
(fragmentation and separation of audiences who cannot understand the
issues of others).

and attention.
Page Reference: 282
99. What does “personality over substance” mean as it pertains to political

candidates? Is there a case to be made that the media should cover candidates’
characters and personalities?

1. Explain that the media are criticized for focusing too much on a
candidate’s personality traits and background rather than on the substance
of issues and policy.
2. Explain that some people view character and personality as important
factors in their voting decisions, and they find the media’s focus
appropriate and even helpful.

306
Page Reference: 287
100. Explain issue framing, using one real-world example of an issue that can be
framed two different ways. In your opinion, is framing a good or bad thing? Why?

1. Define framing as the process by which the media creates a context for
a story that shapes the way the public thinks about it.
2. Using a real-world example, demonstrate how an issue can be framed
two different ways.
3. Provide a clear argument for why framing is either good (it helps shape
the dynamic of a discussion) or bad (it artificially constrains discussion
within a specific framework).

and attention.
Page Reference: 280
101. If you were a media consultant and your candidate had an “image problem,” what
would you do to fix it? Tie your ideas back to what you’ve learned.

1. Discuss generally that media consultants either try to make their
candidate look better or try to make the opposition candidate look worse
(or both).
2. Explain how the candidate could be coached on how to act and behave
on TV by using the results of focus groups and public opinion polls to
bring the candidate’s positions in line with what the public thinks is good.

102. Define and analyze the role of political socialization. What affect on politics does
it have?
307
1. Define political socialization as the education process by which citizens
acquire political beliefs, attitudes, and values.
2. Explain that while the media themselves are factors in the political
socialization process, our political beliefs and values provide a lens
through which we filter our perceptions of the media and the content they
deliver.
3. Illustrate the point by drawing upon the example in the text of how a
Republican from Arizona might see bias in the “liberal eastern networks”
(or some other relevant example).

and attention.
Page Reference: 281
103. Analyze the role of media consultants. Explain what contributed to their rise in
politics.

1. Explain that a media consultant is a campaign professional who
provides a candidate with advice and services regarding media relations,
advertising strategies, and opinion polling.
2. Explain that the rise of the consultant is in part attributed to the media’s
focus on a candidate’s personality and its highlighting of candidate gaffes.
It is also attributed to the need to reach a new mass audience and the
power of television as a political medium.

104. Explain what “horse race journalism” means and analyze its impact on political
campaign coverage.

1. Define horse race journalism as the media’s tendency to comment more
on who is ahead in the polls than on a candidate’s actual positions on
issues.
308
2. Explain how the obsession with “game,” or tactics and strategies of the
campaigns, that accompanies horse race journalism has the effect of
displacing the coverage of political issues.

Page Reference: 287
105. How has audience fragmentation affected broadcast media and newspapers?

1. Define audience fragmentation as the scattering of audiences across
multiple press outlets due to the growth of cable television and the
Internet.
2. Explain that due to audience fragmentation, the impact of the press has
become more diffuse and thus works to counteract the effects of media
conglomeration.
3. Note that this effect will be minimized as media conglomerates move to
both acquire cable stations and promote their own online Web sites.

and attention.
Page Reference: 282
 Essay Questions
106. What is media consolidation, and what role has it had in political reporting?

1. Define media conglomeration as the recent trend that multiple types of
media are owned by an increasingly limited number of corporations.
2. Discuss how the increase in the number of media outlets, due to the
Internet as well as cable and satellite TV, has increased the accessibility of
information.
309
3. Explain how conglomeration might actually constrict the amount of
information due to an echoing of the same information in different media
outlets.
4. Explain how the nationalization of the news media has led to the
creation of media news personalities, such as Sean Hannity, who have a
major influence due to their large presence on radio, TV, the Internet, and
in print books.
5. Provide a clear and concise conclusion.

107. What are two criticisms of mass media? Choose a political topic in the news
today. Drawing on the coverage of the topic and what you’ve learned, are these
criticisms justified, in your opinion?

1. Discuss two criticisms of mass media, which could include the media’s
role in framing issues for citizens, setting the agenda by helping to
determine what issues become subjects of popular debate and draft
legislation, and the worry about ideological bias (both liberal and
conservative) in the media.
2. Form an argument, using a topic currently being covered in the news
today, as to whether these criticisms are justified by giving a clear and
logical explanation with appropriate support.

and attention.
108. What are three factors that limit media influence on public opinion? Focus on one
or more of these factors and give an example of how they affected the media’s
influence on you.
310
1. Discuss three factors that limit media influence on public opinion,
which could include political socialization (our attitudes and beliefs
toward the media or specific media outlets), selectivity both in terms of
the media consumed and the information perceived, needs (why people
use media), and audience fragmentation (the diffusion of audiences across
multiple media venues).
2. Select one or two factors and provide an example of how they affected
the influence of the media on the student.

and attention.
109. Compare and contrast the political impact of radio communication with the
phenomenon of the Internet.

1. Note that even though the Internet seems to dominate, radio remains an
effective and widely utilized form of political communication.
2. Explain that these two forms of media both have the ability to reach
vast audiences and to target specific audiences for political
communication.
3. Discuss how the Internet provides a less expensive medium for political
communication and one that is more directly accessible for citizens when
it comes to searching for information.
4. Comment on how the dramatic rise of social media sites in the past
decade has increased the ability of specific political groups, e.g., African
Americans, to connect and for multiple forms of government, including
candidates, government agencies, elected politicians, and political
movements, to connect and share information.

Page Reference: 268, 271 – 272
311
110. Analyze how, over time, presidents have used the media to their benefit. Compare
and contrast two different presidents’ use of mass media.

1. Discuss how the mass media can serve as a political tool for presidents,
especially in keeping citizens informed.
2. Explain that as the nature of the media has changed, so has their utility
in advancing the political agendas of various presidents.
3. Note that the media provide the mechanism whereby presidents can
directly communicate their political agendas to the public and attempt to
sway public opinion in favor of their positions. For example, the student
might note how Roosevelt used the radio to have “fireside chats” with the
nation during the Great Depression and WWII.
4. Choose two presidents and compare and contrast their use of media. For
example, compare how Roosevelt and Obama both used the media to
connect directly with citizens but how the different media (radio versus
TV and social media) change the way that they mobilized the public.

312

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Government By the People 2014

Elections and Updates Edition 25th

1. The Internet began as a(n) __________.

a. bet between two math professors

3. The average American watches approximately__________ hour(s) of television a

7. The __________ is an independent regulatory agency charged with licensing

8. Fragmentation of the media audience has tended to __________.

a. counteract the impact of media conglomeration

9. How has television coverage of politics changed over time?

a. Television stations now devote more time to reporting on Congress.

11. In which type of election is news coverage likely to be most influential?

a. horse race coverage

13. The media’s power to set the agenda is limited by __________.

a. the audience and the nature of any particular issue

a. their role as media consumers

a. the Supreme Court

17. The majority of Americans sees the press as __________.

a. biased toward a particular political party

18. What do most campaign consultants believe about negative campaigning?

a. that it is less effective than positive advertising

a. the printing press

20. The decline in newspaper readership is especially pronounced among

23. The __________ enabled newspapers to be more financially independent, moving

a. reliance on home delivery

a. participated in television debates

a. to create a communications network that could survive a nuclear attack

27. What is the top circulating U.S. newspaper?

a. They led to greater sensationalism in news coverage.

a. a local television station

40. Rupert Murdoch’s ownership of numerous television stations, newspapers, and

a. the privatization of the news

a. swearing at the Super Bowl half-time show

44. Most U.S. news media are committed to __________.

a. expressing liberal viewpoints

47. Image making in politics has resulted in an increased number of what?

49. What television network provides uninterrupted coverage of congressional

a. limit people’s access to the Internet

a. Viewership has decreased dramatically since the late 1980s.

a. A higher percentage of Americans turn to the Internet for news.

54. Recent FCC rulings have produced a trend in media __________.

a. It led to more political coverage.

56. When did the era of “objective journalism” begin?

a. in the early 1800s

a. It has led broadcast news to boost its entertainment value.

68. Political campaigns no longer use radio to communicate with voters.

71. Media consultants are playing an increasingly important role in political

Answer: the big three

78. The nickname __________ was given to Ronald Reagan.

Answer: the “Great Communicator”

Answer: penny press

80. The primary responsibility of a(n) __________ is to provide a positive image of

Answer: media consultant

Answer: television cameras

Answer: mass media

Answer: political parties

85. The commercial tradition of exaggeration and sensationalism in selling

Answer: yellow journalism

Answer: Web sites

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answer: Peer pressure

 Short Answer Questions

Answer: An ideal response will:

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q9.1.91