Full Test Bank Chapter 5 Vaughn Media Bias

Chapter 5: Media Bias

Multiple Choice

(Correct answers are marked with an asterisk.)

1. Bias that involves slanting the news merely to increase the size of the audience rather than to enhance the readers’ understanding or appreciation of an issue is called…

a. Pandering

b. Opinion

c. Sensationalism

d. Skewed focus

2. The covering or hyping of events in the news to rouse emotions that distract from more important subjects or issues is called. …

a. Propaganda

b. Sensationalism

c. Pandering

d. Partisan news

3.Objectivity in journalism is…

a. Reporting that has as little input from the reporter as possible

b. Reporting that reflects reality like a mirror

c. Ensuring that the story exhibits no explicit or implicit preference for one set of values over another.

d. A complete reliance on official sources

4. A distorted and unfair perspective in the news caused by the values of the writer or editor is…

a. Lack of objectivity

b. Bias

c. Journalistic error

d. Analysis

5. Probably the most obvious indicator of bias is …

a. Faulty logic

b. Factual errors

c. The use of sources

d. The use of emotional and evaluative words to skew the audience’s view

6. Objectivity in the news entails writing and organizing the material so as to…

a. Not express or suggest a preference for one set of values over another

b. Describe the world as it really is

c. Rely exclusively on official sources

d. Giving equal weight to all sources

7. In the news business, opinion refers to…

a. Expressions of views that can be verified through objective evidence

b. Expressions of views that are biased or inaccurate

c. Expressions of views that often cannot be verified entirely through objective evidence

d. Statements of strong personal belief

8. A potent kind of news bias occurs when a story is presented...

a. With all the relevant facts

b. With opinion

c. Without the context from which the reported events arose

d. Without emotive language

9. Probably the most obvious indicators of bias are…

a. Denotative

b. Metaphorical

c. Rhetorical

d. Factual errors

10. In the news business, news is an account of events or situations that…

a. Cannot be verified entirely through objective evidence

b. Can be verified through objective evidence

c. Is absolutely accurate

d. Without bias

11. This sentence—"Democracy is the greatest form of government”—is…

a. A factual statement

b. An opinion statement

c. Not a statement

d. Neither opinion nor fact

12. This sentence—"President Barack Obama was born in the United States”—is…

a. A factual statement

b. An opinion statement

c. Neither opinion nor fact

d. Not a statement

13. This argument—“Surveys consistently show that most American journalists are liberals; therefore, the media has a liberal slant”—is…

a. A strong argument

b. A good argument

c. A cogent argument

d. A bad argument

14. This argument—“Large conglomerates own all large national news organizations, and their heads are conservatives; therefore, the news media has an overall conservative bias”—is…

a. A bad argument

b. A good argument

c. A cogent argument

d. A strong argument

15. Advocacy journalism is bad when it…

a. Advocates unpopular causes

b. Is partisan

c. Is strongly biased, unsupported, or unfair

d. Persuades no one

16. In news, truth-telling involves…

a. Absence of opinion

b. Accuracy and balanced sources

c. Objectivity and lack of advocacy

d. Accuracy, completeness, objectivity, and lack of bias

17. A news story inadvertently containing factual errors is…

a. Biased

b. Not necessarily biased

c. Lacking objectivity

d. Partisan

18. Words that imply value judgments about something are…

a. Denotative

b. Biased

c. Unbiased

d. Evaluative terms

19. According to a Pew Research Center study, people are…

a. Good at telling the difference between news and opinion

b. Unaware of opinions in the news

c. Bad at telling the difference between news and opinion

d. Good at detecting bias

20. Research shows that charging the media with overall bias and making the charge stick is…

a. Harder than most people think

b. Easy

c. Straightforward

d. Impossible

Short Answer/Short Essay

1. What is the difference between objectivity and bias in journalism??

2. What is the difference between factual statements and opinion statements?

3. In journalism, what is the difference between news and opinion?

4. Is the mere expression of opinion in a news piece a sure sign of bias? Why or why not? What makes an expression of opinion biased??

5. Identify and explain three forms of commercial bias.