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Chapter 1 Quiz: The History of American Journalism

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 16mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What scandal did Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward expose?

a)

Teapot Dome

b)

Watergate

c)

Abscam

d)

Irangate

2.

What was Samuel Clemens’ pen name?

a)

Ernest Hemingway

b)

H.L. Mencken

c)

Jon Franklin

d)

Mark Twain

3.

At what newspaper did the great novelist Ernest Hemingway develop his straightforward prose style?

a)

The Kansas City Star

b)

The Washington Post

c)

The Miami Herald

d)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

4.

What was the name of the movie that starred Robert Redford as Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein?

a)

“Citizen Kane”

b)

“Absence of Malice”

c)

“Broadcast News”

d)

“All the President’s Men”

5.

America’s first newspaper was called:

a)

Publick Occurrences both Foreign and Domestick

b)

The Pennsylvania Gazette

c)

The Pennsylvania Evening Post

d)

The New York Sun

6.

What is the name of the editor who was acquitted of libel after he argued in his defense that citizens have a right to criticize the government and that libel occurs only when printed words are “false, malicious and seditious.”

a)

Samuel Johnson

b)

Thomas Jeffereson

c)

John Peter Zenger

d)

A.J. Liebling

7.

The first newspaper cartoon, published originally by Benjamin Franklin, became part of the nameplate of what influential newspaper?

a)

Common Sense

b)

Pennsylvania Gazette

c)

Boston News-Letter

d)

Massachusetts Spy

8.

What was the name of the first successful penny paper published in the United States?

a)

The New York Sun

b)

The New York Journal

c)

The Missouri Gazette

d)

The New York Advertiser

9.

Who published The North Star to fight slavery and bring news to Black Americans?

a)

Horace Greeley

b)

Henry Raymond

c)

Benjamin Day

d)

Frederick Douglass

10.

What new technological device in the 1840s made possible long-distance reporting?

a)

The telegraph

b)

The “cylinder” press

c)

Steam-powered presses

d)

The typewriter

11.

By the mid-1800s, why was James Gordon Bennett's the "New York Herald" the world’s biggest newspaper?

a)

Bennett's paper was the number one source for political news and that is all it covered.

b)

The paper included more innovative ideas, such as stories that featured interviews, society columns, finances, and sports.

c)

The Herald offered less engaging stories, but included more comics that appealed to children.

d)

The Herald was one of the papers that was involved in fabricating stories that led to the Spanish-American War.

12.

When did reporters begin using the writing style known as “the inverted pyramid”?

a)

During the Revolutionary War

b)

During the rise of the Penny Press

c)

During the Civil War

d)

During World War I

13.

The sensational reports in papers owned by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer led to what war?

a)

World War I

b)

The Civil War

c)

World War II

d)

The Spanish-American War

14.

Who funded the first school of journalism, at Columbia University?

a)

Walter Cronkite

b)

Joseph Pulitzer

c)

James Gordon Bennett

d)

William Randolph Hearst

15.

TV came of age with what significant event?

a)

Kennedy Assassination

b)

Watergate

c)

9/11

d)

Space Shuttle Challenger

16.

In 1941, the largest radio audience in history listened to a broadcast depicting what news event?

a)

The assassination of President Kennedy

b)

The Hindenburg explosion

c)

President Roosevelt declaring war on Japan

d)

The first moon walk

17.

Dramatic reporting by whom brought World War II into the living rooms of Americans?

a)

Walter Cronkite

b)

Leon Harris

c)

Peter Jennings

d)

Edward R. Murrow

18.

From what medium do most Americans get their news today?

a)

Newspapers

b)

Radio

c)

Television

d)

Digital Devices

19.

What president resigned following the investigation of the Watergate scandal?

a)

Lyndon B. Johnson

b)

Jimmy Carter

c)

Richard Nixon

d)

Gerald Ford

20.

How did newspapers respond to the advent of television?

a)

Tighter writing

b)

Better formatting

c)

Improved design

d)

All of the answer choices provided are correct.

21.

What was the impact of the 'Penny Press' on journalism?

a)

It made journalism more accessible to the masses

b)

It reduced the quality of journalism

c)

It increased the cost of newspapers

d)

It led to the decline of newspapers

22.

This "yellow journalist" reformed and developed a Journalist Code of Ethics, a Prize for achievement in journalism, writing and music, and started the first journalism school at Columbia. He is also known as the "Father of Modern Journalism." Who is he?

a)

Joseph Pulitzer

b)

Benjamin Franklin

c)

Ernest Hemingway

d)

Samuel Clemens

23.

Which journalist is credited with pioneering investigative journalism in the late 19th century by going undercover in a mental institution?

a)

Nellie Bly

b)

Ida B. Wells

c)

Margaret Fuller

d)

Dorothy Thompson

24.

What invention in the 15th century greatly contributed to the spread of printed news and information?

a)

The radio

b)

The printing press

c)

The typewriter

d)

The telegraph

25.

Which newspaper is known for its slogan, “All the News That’s Fit to Print”?

a)

The New York Times

b)

The Chicago Tribune

c)

The Washington Post

d)

The Wall Street Journal

26.

Why were the penny press newspapers called "penny press"?

a)

You could buy one for five pennies.

b)

The first publisher was named Penny.

c)

They all ran pictures of Abraham Lincoln, who was on the penny.

d)

They cost 1 cent.

27.

Journalists who investigated corruption, social institutions, and politics and promoted social responsibility were called ________________________.

a)

yellow journalists

b)

editors

c)

muckrakers

d)

newsies

28.

The inverted pyramid style of journalism puts the ___________________ facts in the first paragraph.

a)

first

b)

names and dates of

c)

most important

d)

least important

29.

The reporters, editors, photographers, producers and camera crews who sift through the many happenings of a day to tell you what's important or interesting are called ____________________.

a)

journalists

b)

staffers

c)

sources

d)

gaffers

30.

Channels of communication that reach a large audience are called _______________________.

a)

televisions

b)

broadcasts

c)

radios

d)

mass media