SMPA 1050 Exam #1 questions with
complete solutions
Hostile Media Effect - correct answer ✔✔The more we care about a certain topic, the more
likely we are to think that the press is biased against our side and for the other side
Why is "lie" a loaded term? - correct answer ✔✔The idea of a lie is that you not only told
people something false, you did it with the intent to mislead them. Calling people liars is saying
that they meant to mislead those they told the lie to- they might have just been misinformed or
uneducated on the subject.
Objectivity in the media - correct answer ✔✔Not taking a side- instead, presenting both sides as
fairly as possible without bias. An impossible goal, but one that the media strives to achieve.
Detached balance for credibility
"View From Nowhere" - correct answer ✔✔A journalistic sense of zero perspective. Removes
you from responsibility for stating the facts.
Hutchens Commission (1947) - correct answer ✔✔AKA the Commission on the Freedom of the
Press. There isn't just a right to inform, but people also have the right to BE informed.
Recent Trends in News Values - correct answer ✔✔-Celebrities as news and in news (DiCaprio,
Wolf Blitzer)
- Substitution of talk and opinion for news (cable news isn't all news)
- News is entertainment, entertainment is news (in a way it wasn't before)
- Hard news replaced by soft news (feel-good pieces instead of real stories)
- More about attracting people and profit than a public service
, Party Press - correct answer ✔✔News sponsored by politicians and parties. Only elites in
politics and economy read them. Founding of USA-1830s. "Preaching to the choir"- meant for
those who could vote and the wealthy. Top-down: politicians to people
Penny Press - correct answer ✔✔1830- late 1800s. Cheaper and meant for the common person
now that more people can vote. Looked for large circulation. Made $ thru ads. Reporters
politically independent. Democratic Market Society reason why this exploded- country booms,
so does the media. Bottom-up: people to politicians. Facts > opinion.
Muckrakers - correct answer ✔✔late 19th- early 20th century. Extension of Penny, first
instances of investigative journalism. Beginning of objective model ("he said, she said").
Kerner Commission - correct answer ✔✔Part of the reason social issues blew up when they did
(like the '68 riots) was because the media, in its bias, missed underlying tensions.
Media Bias - correct answer ✔✔Media rooms were mostly white males in areas with heavy
black populations- didn't reflect the city. This reflected societal problems- uphill battle for
minorities in media too. Still true(ish) to this day. Not just what's included, but what's NOT
included.
Political Communication Triangle - correct answer ✔✔Public-Press-Politicians
Gans's 3 variables of journalism efficiency - correct answer ✔✔- Staff (more staff = more news
to produce)
- Air time/print space (limited by ads, media, etc.)
- Production time (cuts into how much you can cover)
Based in objectivity, but subjectivity is required to make it work
News Norms - correct answer ✔✔The way news is defined and written for journalists
complete solutions
Hostile Media Effect - correct answer ✔✔The more we care about a certain topic, the more
likely we are to think that the press is biased against our side and for the other side
Why is "lie" a loaded term? - correct answer ✔✔The idea of a lie is that you not only told
people something false, you did it with the intent to mislead them. Calling people liars is saying
that they meant to mislead those they told the lie to- they might have just been misinformed or
uneducated on the subject.
Objectivity in the media - correct answer ✔✔Not taking a side- instead, presenting both sides as
fairly as possible without bias. An impossible goal, but one that the media strives to achieve.
Detached balance for credibility
"View From Nowhere" - correct answer ✔✔A journalistic sense of zero perspective. Removes
you from responsibility for stating the facts.
Hutchens Commission (1947) - correct answer ✔✔AKA the Commission on the Freedom of the
Press. There isn't just a right to inform, but people also have the right to BE informed.
Recent Trends in News Values - correct answer ✔✔-Celebrities as news and in news (DiCaprio,
Wolf Blitzer)
- Substitution of talk and opinion for news (cable news isn't all news)
- News is entertainment, entertainment is news (in a way it wasn't before)
- Hard news replaced by soft news (feel-good pieces instead of real stories)
- More about attracting people and profit than a public service
, Party Press - correct answer ✔✔News sponsored by politicians and parties. Only elites in
politics and economy read them. Founding of USA-1830s. "Preaching to the choir"- meant for
those who could vote and the wealthy. Top-down: politicians to people
Penny Press - correct answer ✔✔1830- late 1800s. Cheaper and meant for the common person
now that more people can vote. Looked for large circulation. Made $ thru ads. Reporters
politically independent. Democratic Market Society reason why this exploded- country booms,
so does the media. Bottom-up: people to politicians. Facts > opinion.
Muckrakers - correct answer ✔✔late 19th- early 20th century. Extension of Penny, first
instances of investigative journalism. Beginning of objective model ("he said, she said").
Kerner Commission - correct answer ✔✔Part of the reason social issues blew up when they did
(like the '68 riots) was because the media, in its bias, missed underlying tensions.
Media Bias - correct answer ✔✔Media rooms were mostly white males in areas with heavy
black populations- didn't reflect the city. This reflected societal problems- uphill battle for
minorities in media too. Still true(ish) to this day. Not just what's included, but what's NOT
included.
Political Communication Triangle - correct answer ✔✔Public-Press-Politicians
Gans's 3 variables of journalism efficiency - correct answer ✔✔- Staff (more staff = more news
to produce)
- Air time/print space (limited by ads, media, etc.)
- Production time (cuts into how much you can cover)
Based in objectivity, but subjectivity is required to make it work
News Norms - correct answer ✔✔The way news is defined and written for journalists
