CHAPTER 2--MEDIA AND SOCIETY Student: 1. New media have less personalization than old media. 2. VCRs diffused very quickly in the United States. 3. According to Marshall McLuhan, we are "amusing ourselves to death." 4. Hegemony can be described as the dominant underlying ideology governing society. 5. Public Broadcasting is driven strictly by a profit motive. 6. Framing theory is as much concerned with what is left out of a story as with what is in the story 7. A usage fee is when you pay each time you use the media, depending on how much you use. 8. Economies of scale work when first copy costs are spread over many subsequent copies. 9. In postmodernism, reason is the source of progress and science. 10. Copyright royalty fees are paid to media creators for the use of their works. 11. Monopolies and oligopolies can often afford high entry costs that pose barriers to entry to new competitors. 12. Early adopters precede the innovators along the timeline of the diffusion curve, according to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory. 1
13. According to functionalism, society needs the media. 14. The Internet allows people to become active seekers, users and contributors of information instead of solely passive receivers. 15. Narrowcasting targets media to specific segments of the audience. 16. Who probes for verbal and visual symbolism in media? A. Media criticism scholars B. Political economists C. Feminist critics D. Diffusion experts 17. New York City has three newspapers. This market configuration can be best characterized as. A. a monopoly B. an oligopoly C. corporatization D. synergy 18. Categories of creative works that have a distinctive style and format are called. A. concepts B. archetypes C. genres D. functions 19. Marshall McLuhan's statement that "the medium is the message" best illustrates. A. the need for good content in the media B. a technological deterministic perspective C. the important role of media texts D. a cultural deterministic perspective 20. What does "barriers to entry" mean? A. The inability of controversial producers to gain access to the airwaves B. The high costs of establishing or acquiring media firms C. The difficulty of gaining access to production facilities because of increased security D. A way of describing the impact of ideology on the audience 21. A political economist argues that. A. the media seek profitability B. regulations cause media to change C. media content is influenced by ownership D. All of the choices 2
22. Agenda-setters media coverage, and gatekeepers media coverage. A. produce... syndicate B. buy... sell C. influence... control D. narrowcast... copyright 23. The main functions of media are surveillance, entertainment, and. A. interpretation... digitalization B. digitalization... regulation C. regulation... socialization D. socialization... interpretation 24. According to the Diffusion of Innovations theory, the adoption of new technologies. A. takes place for all people at the same time B. only occurs among the best educated people C. follows a predictable sequence of stages D. cannot be predicted and is dependent on cultural context 25. Why do large media firms produce commodities in large volumes? A. To fight media illiteracy B. To pursue economies of scale C. To eliminate competition D. To take advantage of network structures 26. One of the concepts stressed by critical theorists is the idea of "hegemony." What do they mean by this? A. Media institutions actually rule society. B. The media are constantly hedging their positions on important social issues. C. The media teach the ideology of the ruling classes. D. The effects of the media are less powerful than the dictates of those in positions of authority. 27. How much did VCRs cost in 1975? A. Less than $500 B. About $1,000 C. Around $1,500 D. Approximately $2,200 28. The process by which communications technologies spread through society can be explained by. A. media convergence B. economies of scale C. Diffusion of Innovations D. functionalism 29. Who argued that computers foster technopoly? A. Jacques Ellul B. Neil Postman C. Manuel Castells D. Theodor Adorno 3
30. Narrowcasting has supplanted which of the following strategies for commercial media sales? A. Lobbying for public subsidies B. Broadcasting TV programming with the largest possible appeal C. "Medium-casting" to audiences with better-than-average tastes D. None of the choices 31. Did the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban make money or lose money for the film studio that financed the film? 32. Who was Marshall McLuhan, and what was he known for? 33. Why has the price of color televisions dropped so much since 1953? 4
34. How are barriers to entry related to media monopolies? 35. Who are gatekeepers, and who are agenda setters? 36. How do economies of scale in communications media work? 37. Describe narrowcasting. 5
38. Describe two social functions of the media. 39. Explain the main ideas behind the political-economic approach to media studies. 40. What do feminist scholars and ethnic studies scholars have in common in their criticism of the media? 6
CHAPTER 2--MEDIA AND SOCIETY Key 1. New media have less personalization than old media. FALSE 2. VCRs diffused very quickly in the United States. 3. According to Marshall McLuhan, we are "amusing ourselves to death." FALSE 4. Hegemony can be described as the dominant underlying ideology governing society. 5. Public Broadcasting is driven strictly by a profit motive. FALSE 6. Framing theory is as much concerned with what is left out of a story as with what is in the story 7. A usage fee is when you pay each time you use the media, depending on how much you use. 8. Economies of scale work when first copy costs are spread over many subsequent copies. 9. In postmodernism, reason is the source of progress and science. FALSE 10. Copyright royalty fees are paid to media creators for the use of their works. 11. Monopolies and oligopolies can often afford high entry costs that pose barriers to entry to new competitors. 12. Early adopters precede the innovators along the timeline of the diffusion curve, according to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory. FALSE 1
13. According to functionalism, society needs the media. 14. The Internet allows people to become active seekers, users and contributors of information instead of solely passive receivers. 15. Narrowcasting targets media to specific segments of the audience. 16. Who probes for verbal and visual symbolism in media? A. Media criticism scholars B. Political economists C. Feminist critics D. Diffusion experts 17. New York City has three newspapers. This market configuration can be best characterized as. A. a monopoly B. an oligopoly C. corporatization D. synergy 18. Categories of creative works that have a distinctive style and format are called. A. concepts B. archetypes C. genres D. functions 19. Marshall McLuhan's statement that "the medium is the message" best illustrates. A. the need for good content in the media B. a technological deterministic perspective C. the important role of media texts D. a cultural deterministic perspective 20. What does "barriers to entry" mean? A. The inability of controversial producers to gain access to the airwaves B. The high costs of establishing or acquiring media firms C. The difficulty of gaining access to production facilities because of increased security D. A way of describing the impact of ideology on the audience 21. A political economist argues that. A. the media seek profitability B. regulations cause media to change C. media content is influenced by ownership D. All of the choices 2
22. Agenda-setters media coverage, and gatekeepers media coverage. A. produce... syndicate B. buy... sell C. influence... control D. narrowcast... copyright 23. The main functions of media are surveillance, entertainment, and. A. interpretation... digitalization B. digitalization... regulation C. regulation... socialization D. socialization... interpretation 24. According to the Diffusion of Innovations theory, the adoption of new technologies. A. takes place for all people at the same time B. only occurs among the best educated people C. follows a predictable sequence of stages D. cannot be predicted and is dependent on cultural context 25. Why do large media firms produce commodities in large volumes? A. To fight media illiteracy B. To pursue economies of scale C. To eliminate competition D. To take advantage of network structures 26. One of the concepts stressed by critical theorists is the idea of "hegemony." What do they mean by this? A. Media institutions actually rule society. B. The media are constantly hedging their positions on important social issues. C. The media teach the ideology of the ruling classes. D. The effects of the media are less powerful than the dictates of those in positions of authority. 27. How much did VCRs cost in 1975? A. Less than $500 B. About $1,000 C. Around $1,500 D. Approximately $2,200 28. The process by which communications technologies spread through society can be explained by. A. media convergence B. economies of scale C. Diffusion of Innovations D. functionalism 29. Who argued that computers foster technopoly? A. Jacques Ellul B. Neil Postman C. Manuel Castells D. Theodor Adorno 3
30. Narrowcasting has supplanted which of the following strategies for commercial media sales? A. Lobbying for public subsidies B. Broadcasting TV programming with the largest possible appeal C. "Medium-casting" to audiences with better-than-average tastes D. None of the choices 31. Did the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban make money or lose money for the film studio that financed the film? 32. Who was Marshall McLuhan, and what was he known for? 33. Why has the price of color televisions dropped so much since 1953? 34. How are barriers to entry related to media monopolies? 35. Who are gatekeepers, and who are agenda setters? 36. How do economies of scale in communications media work? 37. Describe narrowcasting. 4
38. Describe two social functions of the media. 39. Explain the main ideas behind the political-economic approach to media studies. 40. What do feminist scholars and ethnic studies scholars have in common in their criticism of the media? 5