CMJN 2100 - JENNIFER JOHNSON FINAL EXAM | CONCEPTS IN COMMUNICATION
AND JOURNALISM | VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST VERSION
2026/2027
CMJN 2100 - Concepts in Communication and Journalism
Johnson – Final Exam
1. Which invention around 1450 made the mass reproduction of
printed material possible in Europe?
A. The telegraph
B. The linotype machine
C. The rotary steam press
D. Gutenberg's movable-type printing press
D. Gutenberg's movable-type printing press. Gutenberg's press lowered
the cost of books and launched the print era of communication.
2. Communication is best defined as the process of
A. transmitting information in one direction only
B. persuading others to change their beliefs
C. creating and sharing meaning through symbols
D. broadcasting messages to large audiences
C. creating and sharing meaning through symbols. Communication is a
symbolic process through which people build shared meaning.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 1
,3. In the linear (transmission) model of communication, "noise" refers
to
A. anything that interferes with the accurate receipt of a message
B. the sender's intended meaning
C. the medium carrying the message
D. the audience's reply to the sender
A. anything that interferes with the accurate receipt of a message. Noise
can be physical, psychological, or semantic and distorts the message.
4. Which element was added to later communication models to show
that receivers respond to senders?
A. Encoding
B. Feedback
C. Channel
D. Source
B. Feedback. Feedback turns communication from a one-way flow into a
two-way, interactive process.
5. Mass communication differs from interpersonal communication
mainly because it
A. reaches large, dispersed audiences through a medium
B. always involves face-to-face contact
C. has no professional senders
D. allows immediate and equal feedback
A. reaches large, dispersed audiences through a medium. Mass
communication is mediated and reaches many people, so feedback is
delayed and limited.
6. Which term describes the individuals and organizations that select
which stories reach the public?
A. Opinion leaders
B. Stringers
C. Syndicators
D. Gatekeepers
D. Gatekeepers. Gatekeepers such as editors and producers decide what
information passes to the audience.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 2
,7. Who developed the concept of gatekeeping in communication
research?
A. Marshall McLuhan
B. Paul Lazarsfeld
C. Kurt Lewin, later applied to news by David Manning White
D. George Gerbner
C. Kurt Lewin, later applied to news by David Manning White. Lewin
coined the idea; White's 1950 study of a wire editor applied it to
journalism.
8. "The medium is the message" is a famous statement by
A. Harold Lasswell
B. Marshall McLuhan
C. Wilbur Schramm
D. Walter Lippmann
B. Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan argued that the form of a medium
shapes society more than the content it carries.
9. Lasswell's classic formula asks "Who says what in which channel to
whom with what effect?" This is best described as
A. a theory of media ownership
B. a code of journalism ethics
C. a verbal description of the communication process
D. a model of persuasion in advertising
C. a verbal description of the communication process. Lasswell's formula
outlines the key elements of communication and inspired the study of
media effects.
10. The hypodermic needle (magic bullet) theory assumes that media
messages
A. are filtered by opinion leaders
B. are ignored by most viewers
C. affect only people who choose them
D. have direct and powerful effects on passive audiences
D. have direct and powerful effects on passive audiences. Early
researchers thought messages were "injected" into audiences who all
reacted the same way.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 3
, 11. The two-step flow theory, developed by Lazarsfeld and Katz, states
that
A. media reach audiences directly and uniformly
B. media influence reaches many people through opinion leaders
C. audiences choose media only for entertainment
D. newspapers are more powerful than television
B. media influence reaches many people through opinion leaders.
Opinion leaders interpret media content and pass it, with their own
influence, to others.
12. The uses and gratifications approach focuses on
A. why audiences choose particular media
B. what media do to audiences
C. who owns media companies
D. how media are regulated
A. why audiences choose particular media. It views audiences as active
and asks what needs media use satisfies.
13. Agenda-setting theory holds that the media
A. tell us exactly what to think
B. tell us what to think about, not necessarily what to think
C. have no influence on public priorities
D. create all public opinion
B. tell us what to think about, not necessarily what to think. McCombs
and Shaw found that issues emphasized by the media become the issues
the public considers important.
14. Cultivation theory is most closely associated with
A. George Gerbner
B. Elihu Katz
C. Maxwell McCombs
D. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
A. George Gerbner. Gerbner argued that heavy television viewing
cultivates a distorted view of reality, such as the "mean world
syndrome."
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 4
AND JOURNALISM | VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST VERSION
2026/2027
CMJN 2100 - Concepts in Communication and Journalism
Johnson – Final Exam
1. Which invention around 1450 made the mass reproduction of
printed material possible in Europe?
A. The telegraph
B. The linotype machine
C. The rotary steam press
D. Gutenberg's movable-type printing press
D. Gutenberg's movable-type printing press. Gutenberg's press lowered
the cost of books and launched the print era of communication.
2. Communication is best defined as the process of
A. transmitting information in one direction only
B. persuading others to change their beliefs
C. creating and sharing meaning through symbols
D. broadcasting messages to large audiences
C. creating and sharing meaning through symbols. Communication is a
symbolic process through which people build shared meaning.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 1
,3. In the linear (transmission) model of communication, "noise" refers
to
A. anything that interferes with the accurate receipt of a message
B. the sender's intended meaning
C. the medium carrying the message
D. the audience's reply to the sender
A. anything that interferes with the accurate receipt of a message. Noise
can be physical, psychological, or semantic and distorts the message.
4. Which element was added to later communication models to show
that receivers respond to senders?
A. Encoding
B. Feedback
C. Channel
D. Source
B. Feedback. Feedback turns communication from a one-way flow into a
two-way, interactive process.
5. Mass communication differs from interpersonal communication
mainly because it
A. reaches large, dispersed audiences through a medium
B. always involves face-to-face contact
C. has no professional senders
D. allows immediate and equal feedback
A. reaches large, dispersed audiences through a medium. Mass
communication is mediated and reaches many people, so feedback is
delayed and limited.
6. Which term describes the individuals and organizations that select
which stories reach the public?
A. Opinion leaders
B. Stringers
C. Syndicators
D. Gatekeepers
D. Gatekeepers. Gatekeepers such as editors and producers decide what
information passes to the audience.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 2
,7. Who developed the concept of gatekeeping in communication
research?
A. Marshall McLuhan
B. Paul Lazarsfeld
C. Kurt Lewin, later applied to news by David Manning White
D. George Gerbner
C. Kurt Lewin, later applied to news by David Manning White. Lewin
coined the idea; White's 1950 study of a wire editor applied it to
journalism.
8. "The medium is the message" is a famous statement by
A. Harold Lasswell
B. Marshall McLuhan
C. Wilbur Schramm
D. Walter Lippmann
B. Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan argued that the form of a medium
shapes society more than the content it carries.
9. Lasswell's classic formula asks "Who says what in which channel to
whom with what effect?" This is best described as
A. a theory of media ownership
B. a code of journalism ethics
C. a verbal description of the communication process
D. a model of persuasion in advertising
C. a verbal description of the communication process. Lasswell's formula
outlines the key elements of communication and inspired the study of
media effects.
10. The hypodermic needle (magic bullet) theory assumes that media
messages
A. are filtered by opinion leaders
B. are ignored by most viewers
C. affect only people who choose them
D. have direct and powerful effects on passive audiences
D. have direct and powerful effects on passive audiences. Early
researchers thought messages were "injected" into audiences who all
reacted the same way.
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 3
, 11. The two-step flow theory, developed by Lazarsfeld and Katz, states
that
A. media reach audiences directly and uniformly
B. media influence reaches many people through opinion leaders
C. audiences choose media only for entertainment
D. newspapers are more powerful than television
B. media influence reaches many people through opinion leaders.
Opinion leaders interpret media content and pass it, with their own
influence, to others.
12. The uses and gratifications approach focuses on
A. why audiences choose particular media
B. what media do to audiences
C. who owns media companies
D. how media are regulated
A. why audiences choose particular media. It views audiences as active
and asks what needs media use satisfies.
13. Agenda-setting theory holds that the media
A. tell us exactly what to think
B. tell us what to think about, not necessarily what to think
C. have no influence on public priorities
D. create all public opinion
B. tell us what to think about, not necessarily what to think. McCombs
and Shaw found that issues emphasized by the media become the issues
the public considers important.
14. Cultivation theory is most closely associated with
A. George Gerbner
B. Elihu Katz
C. Maxwell McCombs
D. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
A. George Gerbner. Gerbner argued that heavy television viewing
cultivates a distorted view of reality, such as the "mean world
syndrome."
CMJN 2100 Johnson Final Exam – Page 4
