TEST BANK for
Straubhaar’s Media Now, 5th Edition 2008 Update
CHAPTER 8
TELEVISION
True/False
1. T F
PBS has diversified its programming in order to attract new funding sources.
Answer: True
Reference: pp. 235, 243
2. T F
The FCC froze television licenses in 1948 in order to prepare for color
television.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 214
3. T F
The goal of digital television is to improve the quality of the picture.
Answer: True
Reference: p. 229
4. T F
To date, HDTV stations have not yet gone on the air in the United States.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 223
5. T F
Electronic news gathering and non-linear editing are recent trends in TV
technology.
Answer: True
Reference: p. 228
6. T F
Cable television first originated in the early 1970s in the Midwestern United
States.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 219
7. T F
Advertisers once spent as much as $40 million per year on television ads, but
those numbers have dropped sharply with the arrival of the World Wide Web.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 240
8. T F
The earliest TV programs were recorded and preserved on videotape.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 214
TV’s Golden Age fought a winning battle to make television artful and
informative.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 215
9. T F
10. T F DVD players store compressed analog video on high capacity disks.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 228
11. T F A television program has to have a pilot and high test ratings to get air time.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 234
12. T F Cable is known for having niche channels.
Answer: True
Reference: pp. 242–243
13. T F
The violence warning advisory TVPG advises that the show is for a general
audience.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 247
14. T F Newton Minow was credited with the patent for the television.
Answer: False
Reference: pp. 213–214, 218
15. T F Syndication is the rental or licensing of media products.
Answer: True
Reference: p. 218
Once analog television broadcasting ends in 2009, viewers’ “old” NTSC TV
sets will be useless.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 230
16. T F
17. T F
The V-chip required in new television sets by the Telecommunications Act of
1996 enables viewers to block programming based on content ratings supplied
by the FCC.
Answer: False
Reference: p. 247
Multiple Choice
18. How were the big three networks initially able to dominate the TV system?
a) The public rejected low quality content of other stations.
b) NBC, ABC, and CBS were the only stations with access to UHF.
c) They brought their programs, stars, audiences and advertisers with them from
radio.
d) NBC, ABC and CBS were the only stations allowed to distribute Hollywood
films.
Answer: C
Reference: p. 214
19. Syndication is best defined as _______________.
a) reruns
b) the reason for moral decay in America
c) rental or licensing of media content
d) ownership of television by a small group of corporations
Answer: C
Reference: p. 218
20. Why was the Public Broadcasting Service established?
a) To compete with the British Broadcasting Corp
b) Because TV was becoming a vast wasteland
c) To avoid technological standardization
d) In response to the FCC’s decision to freeze licenses
Answer: B
Reference: pp. 218–219
21. Why did FCC Chairman Newton Minow call American television a “vast wasteland”
in 1961?
a) Because celluloid film was extinct
b) Because an oligopoly had led to lack of diversity in programming
c) Because there was a lot of educational programming
d) Because people were taping shows with VCRs
Answer: B
Reference: p. 218
22. Black Entertainment Television and ESPN’s specialized content programming are
examples of _______________.
a) narrowcasting
b) horizontal integration
c) vertical integration
d) public broadcasting
Answer: A
Reference: p. 220
23. What is the largest pay TV network?
a) HBO
b) PBS
c) Cinemax
d) Showtime
Answer: A
Reference: p. 237
24. How many “sweeps months” occur during the year for television ratings?
a) One
b) Two
c) Four
d) Six
Answer: C
Reference: p. 217
25. Which of the following statements is most true of local TV news programs?
a) They have great value in syndication.
b) They are underwritten by corporate funds.
c) Footage is obtained from local sources only.
d) Revenues produced go directly to the local stations.
Answer: D
Reference: p. 234
26. What does “O&O” mean?
a) A station owned and operated by groups of corporations or a network
b) Off and on; a synonym for transmission difficulties
c) Obfuscating and obliterating the frequency spectrum
d) Over and out of the reach of local production companies
Answer: A
Reference: p. 215
27. Which of the following is not a superstation?
a) WGN
b) TBS
c) CNN
d) WWOR
Answer: C
Reference: p. 236
28. Which of the following TV genres was not copied from the movies?
a) Action adventure
b) Situation comedy
c) Talk shows
d) News
Answer: C
Reference: p. 241
29. How many lines are in the frame of a standard television picture?
a) 250
b) 525
c) 450
d) 1,050
Answer: B
Reference: p. 225
30. What is the most recent status of the Fairness Doctrine?
a) The U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in 2000.
b) Congress reinstated it in 2003.
c) The Federal Communications Commission abolished it.
d) The television industry has voluntarily adopted it.
Answer: A
Reference: p. 245
31. What kinds of television operations were the main affiliates to the Fox Network when
it started?
a) Other VHF network affiliates
b) Independent VHF stations
c) PBS affiliates
d) Independent UHF stations
Answer: D
Reference: p. 221
32. What is the “safe harbor” rule in television?
a) It’s OK for a company to own two stations in the same market.
b) It’s OK to show indecent content between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
c) The networks can “safely harbor” infomercials during prime time.
d) There is no “safe harbor” rule in TV; it applies only to radio.
Answer: B
Reference: p. 245
33. Why are broadcasters subject to decency restraints but cable is not?
a) FCC rules do not apply to new companies established after 1982.
b) Children do not have access to cable programming.
c) Broadcasts use public airwaves whereas cable requires subscription.
d) Broadcast television is viewed far more than cable programs.
Answer: C
Reference: pp. 246–247
34. Which of the following is a threat to the continued existence of commercial
broadcasting?
a) Commercial broadcasting has failed to provide enough political programming.
b) Audiences are using technology in order to skip the advertising that pays for the
programs.
c) Broadcasters may not be able to meet the new HDTV standard.
d) All of the choices
Answer: B
Reference: pp. 248–250
Short Answer
35. What is the current status of digital television and HDTV?
Reference: pp. 223–224
36. What prompted the freeze in 1948?
Reference: p. 214
37. What were the ramifications of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the
2004 Super Bowl halftime show?
Reference: pp. 245–247
38. What technology enabled HBO to become a national cable channel?
Reference: p. 219
39. Name the Big 5. Give an example of what each company owns.
Reference: pp. 223–225, 232
40. What is the history of interactive TV?
Reference: pp. 230–231
41. Explain hammocking and other strategies that networks use to attract and hold their
audience.
Reference: pp. 243–244
42. How do vertical integration and horizontal integration in the television industry
threaten diversity?
Reference: pp. 244–245
43. Why do some people fear that we are nearing the end of “free” TV?
Reference: pp. 248–250
44. In what ways is American Idol interactive?
Reference: p. 230
45. Compare “persistence of vision” with the “scanning” principle of television.
Reference: p. 225
46. What is “product placement,” and why is it used?
Reference: p. 240