POLS 1113 American Federal Government

1
POLS 1113American Federal Government

• Chapter 10
• Public Opinion the News Media

2
Political leaders generally try to gauge public
opinion, but sometimes attempt to manipulate
public perceptions in order to gain support for a
desired course of action. For example, only days
after the start of WWI, President __ formed the
Committee on Public Information to win greater
support for U.S. entrance into the war on the
side of the British and French.

• a. Teddy Roosevelt d. Calvin
  Coolidge
• b. William Howard Taft e. Franklin
  Delano
• c. Woodrow Wilson Roosevelt

3
Agents of socialization include

• a. family and peers. d. important events.
• b. school. e. all of the
  above.
• c. the media.

4
In polling conducted in 1988, __ percent of
children from Republican households identified
themselves as Republicans.

• a. 25 d. 88
• b. 42 e. 92
• c. 58

5
A persons political opinions may be affected by

• a. their race or gender. d. all of the
  above.
• b. political events like 9/11. e. none of the
  above.
• c. the region of the country
• in which you live.

6
Since the 1920s, studies have shown that
students become more __ each year they are in
college.

• a. drunk d.
  conservative
• b. angry e. ignorant
• c. liberal

7
Students entering college in the 1980s were
more likely to identify themselves as __ than in
previous years.

• a. liberal d.
  homosexual
• b. conservative e. lovers of
  disco
• c. communists

8
Group membership tends to affect political
beliefs and opinions, particularly such groups as

• a. gender. d. race and
  income.
• b. age. e. all of the
  above.
• c. religious affiliation.

9
Historically, there have been gender differences
in political attitudes on a number of issues,
including

• a. foreign aid and the United Nations.
• b. defense spending and affirmative action.
• c. economic issues.
• d. abortion policies.
• e. advocacy of public prayers.

10
The theory that women often embrace dramatically
different political attitudes than men is called
the

• X Chromosome d. gender gap.
• theory e. dingbat
  theory of voting.
• b. battle of the sexes.
• c. political gap.

11
__ refers to the fairly coherent set of values
and beliefs about government and politics.

• a. Dogma d. Ignorance
• b. Ideology e. Metaphysics
• c. Philosophy

12
In 2004, only around __ percent of
African-Americans voted for George W. Bush for
president.

• a. 3 d. 26
• b. 10 e. 32
• c. 21

13
Many events in the twentieth century have
increased American citizens mistrust of
government, including

• a. Vietnam. d. the Clinton-
  Lewinsky
• b. Watergate. affair.
• c. the Iran-contra e. all of the above.
• affair.

14
In 2002, __ percent of Americans polled didnt
know that Nixon opened U.S. diplomatic relations
with the Peoples Republic of China.

• a. 41 d. 68
• b. 48 e. 79
• c. 57

15
Most people that are not ideologues are more
open-minded, and may change their ideas about
politics based on a variety of factors, including

• a. increased education of specific political
  issues.
• b. calculations of personal benefit.
• c. cues from political leaders.
• d. prompting from pundits and experts.
• e. all of the above.

16
In 2002, __ percent of Americans didnt know that
the Soviet Union had been an ally of the United
States during World War II.

• a. 52 d. 81
• b. 61 e. 92
• c. 73

17
In the United States, __ percent of the
population are high school graduates.

• a. 68 d. 82
• b. 74 e. 99
• c. 82

18
According to public opinion experts, rapid shifts
in American public opinion is best attributed to

• a. low levels of knowledge among Americans.
• b. the effects of deeply-held ideologies.
• c. willful stupidity.
• d. generational change.
• e. all of the above.

19
There are several key factors in creating an
accurate public opinion survey, including all the
following EXCEPT

• a. determining the correct content and phrasing
  of questions.
• b. selecting an accurate sample.
• c. using push poll techniques to alter peoples
  responses.
• d. contacting respondents in a way that insures a
  representative sample.
• e. determining the margin of error.

20
The best method for selecting a polling sample is

• a. straw polling. d.
  stratified, random
• b. self-selected sampling. sampling.
• c. non-stratified sampling. e. deliberative
  polling.

21
The most commonly employed method of contacting
respondents for a poll is currently

• direct mail d. deliberative
  polling.
• surveys. e. straw
  polls.
• b. man in the streetcontact.
• c. the telephone.

22
All polls contain errors. In order to determine
the reliability of a poll, pollsters must
calculate the

• a. standard deviation. d. margin of
  error.
• b. Pearsons Rho. e. all of the
  above.
• c. summary statistics.

23
Among the major shortcomings of polls include

• a. sampling errors. d. inability to
  ascertain
• b. limited respondent the
  intensity of
• options.
  respondents beliefs.
• c. lack of information. e. all of the
  above.

24
The first newspaper published in America was
Publick Occurrences, which was published in

• a. 1690. d. 1760.
• b. 1708. e. 1776.
• c. 1748.

25
A form of newspaper publishing popular in the
late 19th century that played to the lowest
common denominator among its readers by featuring
pictures, comic, color, and sensationalized,
oversimplified news coverage was called

• a. muckraking. d. partisan
  journalism.
• b. the penny press. e. bread and circus
• c. yellow journalism journalism.

26
A form of early 20th century journalism that
focused on exposing corruption and reforming
business and government was called

• a. red journalism. d. partisan
  journalism.
• b. yellow journalism. e. slime ball
  journalism.
• c. muckraking.

27
President __ coined the term muckraker as a
critical observation of the methods of reporters
such as Upton Sinclair, who exposed corruption in
the meat packing industry.

• a. McKinley d. Wilson
• b. Roosevelt e. Harding
• c. Taft

28
The media consist of the

• a. the print press. d. public broadcasting
  
• b. electronic media. stations.
• c. Internet. e. all of the
  above.

29
Modern presidents __ news conferences.

• a. never holds
• b. hold regularly scheduled
• c. virtually never hold
• d. gives a limited number of
• e. plant administration-sponsored journalists at

30
Presidents use press conferences to

• a. massage the White House press corps.
• b. shape public opinion and explain actions and
  decisions.
• c. announce repairs to the White House.
• d. ask the opinion of the reporters on political
  issues.
• e. intimidate the media from giving out
  information that is harmful to the administration.

31
The president receives the lions share of
federal governments press coverage, which for
the most part is

• a. favorable.
• b. unfavorable.
• c. scrupulously neutral and devoid of political
  opinion.
• d. focused on the processes and context of the
  governing process, in keeping with the medias
  First Amendment obligations.
• e. all of the above.

32
The congressional press corps has approximately
__ credentialed members.

• a. 435 d. 5,000
• b. 2,000 e. 8,000
• c. 3,000

33
Most media coverage of Congress focuses on

• a. local coverage of representatives and senators
  when they hold public events in their states.
• b. the leadership of both houses.
• c. key committee chairs when their committees are
  dealing with particularly newsworthy issues.
• d. members who are running or positioning
  themselves for a run for the presidency.
• e. all of the above.

34
The media often extensively cover congressional
investigations of scandals. Among the most
notorious of these was/where the __ during the
1950s.

• a. Teapot Dome scandal d. Pearl Harbor
• b. Chappaquidick
  investigations
• scandal e. all
  of the above.
• c. McCarthy hearings.

35
Gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House of
Representatives and the Senates sessions is
provided by

• a. C-SPAN. d. HBO.
• b. CNBC. e. the Playboy Channel.
• c. PBS.

36
The branch of government that is typically the
most difficult for the media to cover is the

• a. legislature. d. bureaucracy.
• b. executive. e. state and local
  government.
• c. judiciary.

37
An example of the medias increasingly critical
scrutiny of federal judicial proceedings was/were
the

• a. O.J. Simpson murder trial.
• b. Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.
• c. Menendez brothers trial.
• d. Scott Pederson trial.
• e. Michael Jackson trial.

38
__ had the most profound impact of any modern
event on the manner and substance of the presss
perception of and behavior toward government.

• a. The civil rights era.
• b. The Cuban Missile Crisis.
• c. Watergate.
• d. Lyndon Johnsons lifting up his hound dog by
  its ears.
• e. the presidency of John F. Kennedy.

39
Recent press attention to the private activities
and personalities of candidates for high office
is often called

• a. yellow journalism. d. the
  character
• b. investigative journalism. issue.
• c. tabloid journalism. e. gotcha
• 
  journalism.

40
A factor that permits the modern press to
undertake intimate investigations of public
officials behavior is a Supreme Court ruling in
__ that required officials to prove actual
malice to win a libel suit, thus making the
media nearly libel proof.

• a. Burnett v. The National Inquirer
• b. Curtis Publishing v. Butts
• c. Falwell v. Flynt
• d. New York Times v. Sullivan
• e. U.S. v. New York Times.

41
Media bias may include

• a. reporting untruths. d. deliberately
  slanting
• b. reporting partial truths. information to
  favor
• c. reporting facts out of a partisan
  agenda.
• context. e. all of
  the above.

42
Studies have offered considerable evidence of a
variety of different kinds of media bias,
including

• a. a liberal bias among journalists.
• b. a bias toward stories emphasizing conflict.
• c. a personal bias against those journalists
  dont like and in favor of those that they do
  like.
• d. a pro-business bias among publishers and
  editors.
• e. all of the above.

43
The press can have the most influential effect on

• a. agenda setting.
• b. topics about which the public may know a great
  deal about.
• c. topics on which a wide segment of the public
  is passionately concerned about.
• d. slanting public perceptions in a partisan
  direction.
• e. all of the above.

44
Television and radio are regulated by the federal
government because

• a. each individual television or radio is
  considered public property.
• b. the U.S. has followed the British in
  establishing a strong censorship capacity.
• c. the airwaves are considered public property.
• d. there is an unlimited supply of broadcast
  stations.
• e. all of the above.

45
The requirement that TV and radio sell air time
equally to all candidates is called the

• a. fairness doctrine. d. equal time
  rule.
• b. right of rebuttal rule. e. limited access
  doctrine.
• c. reciprocity doctrine.

46
The Supreme Court ruled that the government could
not prevent the publication of classified
documents in the case

• a. U.S. v. Ellsburg. d. Nixon v.
  Washington Post.
• b. New York Times v. e. Meese v. Turner.
• United States.
• c. Washington Post v.
• Mitchell.

47
True/False Universe
48
Children often take political cues from their
parents.

• a. True b. False

49
40 of Americans claim to have no religious
affiliation.

• a. True b. False

50
67 of Americans belong to a church, synagogue,
or mosque.

• a. True b. False

51
Age has a decided impact on a persons view of
the proper role of government.

• a. True b. False

52
Women tend to have more positive attitudes about
social welfare issues, education, and government
regulation of the environment.

• a. True b. False

53
Political events like 9/11 can often play an
important role in shaping public attitudes.

• a. True b. False

54
Only 15 of American consider themselves to be
political moderate.

• a. True b. False

55
According to the Department of Education, 63 of
Americans were unaware that Richard Nixon opened
diplomatic relations with China.

• a. True b. False

56
How a poll question is phrased can influence the
accuracy of reported respondents sentiments.

• a. True b. False

57
The order in which polling questions are
organized has no impact on the reliability of a
poll.

• a. True b. False

58
Poll based on probability samples are more
accurate than those based on quota sampling.

• a. True b. False

59
The branch of government that receives the most
media attention is the Congress.

• a. True b. False

60
The modern president give fewer news conferences
these days, and relies on advisors and press
secretaries to brief the press and shape news
coverage of the administration.

• a. True b. False

61
Congressional news coverage tends to be get
little airtime, except when Congress is doing
something deemed newsworthy by the networks.

• a. True b. False

62
Greater media attention to Congress has been a
clear consequence of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners
at Abu Graib prison in 2004.

• True b. False

63
The Supreme Courts ruling in New York Times v.
Sullivan (1964) made it easier to prove libel,
and has had a chilling effect on which the media
is willing to publish on air.

• a. True b. False

64
The news media are definitely biased however,
they are biased in a number of ways, not simply
along ideological lines (e.g. liberal or
conservative).

• a. True b. False

65
Media tend to have little influence over highly
partisan and well-informed citizens.

• a. True b. False

66
The equal time rule was passed by Congress to
ensure that minor party candidates have access to
television and radio time.

• True b. False

67
In general, the media cannot tell people what to
think, but they can influence what they think
about.

• a. True b. False