Study Guide 2

The common-carrier function allows __________ to communicate with __________.

• political leaders; the public

• political leaders; the media

• the media; the public

• the public; political leaders

• the media; political leaders

The Watergate scandal illustrates the

• futility of media attempts to forecast political events.

• inadequacy of the media as a common-carrier to the public.

• power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power.

• ability of the press to serve as the public's representative in political disputes.

• abuse of power by journalists in the United States.

The information commons allowed Americans access to

• partisan stories in the national newspapers.

• partisan stories in the local newspapers.

• local stories in the national newspapers.

• a high-choice media system.

• national stories in the local newspapers.

The "long tail" is a phenomenon related to the

• partisan flavor of talk shows.

• degree of editorializing by broadcast news.

• pattern and rate of Internet news readership.

• increase in the age gap of news readership.

• partisan nature of Internet news.

Which of the following is a consequence of the high-choice media system?

• a growth in the traditional public affairs audience

• greater control by people over what they see and hear

• a merging of the three tiers of public affairs audiences

• a higher proportion of objective news sources to partisan news sources

• a shared base of knowledge for the overall news and public affairs audience

Echo chambers promote which of the following?

• greater susceptibility to misinformation

• greater resistance to partisan messages

• an accurate understanding of politics

• a preference for objective journalism

• a desire to only consume news through social media

Which of the following networks pioneered the partisan model for cable news reporting?

• Fox News

• ABC

• NBC

• CBS

• PBS

Social media networks

• create echo chambers by relying on algorithms to feed users content they prefer to see.

• are hugely popular, with Facebook used by over two-thirds of Americans.

• amplify partisanship, in part because users’ contacts tend to share their party loyalty.

• All of these answers are correct.

• None of these answers are correct.

Agenda-setting is an action that falls under which of the major roles played by the press?

• common-carrier

• signaling

• watchdog

• partisan advocate

• news interpreter

The media perform the signaling role by

• informing the public of breaking events and new developments.

• serving as an open channel for leaders to express their opinions.

• exposing officials who violate accepted performance and moral standards.

• acting as the public's representative.

• All these answers are correct.