> Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:48:41 -0700 (PDT) > From: Norman Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: A Pop Quiz on News Judgment > > > A POP QUIZ ABOUT NEWS JUDGMENT > > By Norman Solomon / Creators Syndicate > > > With summer almost gone and schools back in session around > the country, now is a good time for a pop quiz on news coverage. > > Don't worry -- this "test" won't be graded. It's up to you > to decide which answers ring true. > > Today's quiz is multiple choice. > > 1. When America Online gained control of Compuserve the > other day, there wasn't much concern expressed in news media > because: > > a) "Anti-trust" is an obsolete idea that just belongs in > history books. > > b) America Online was already huge, with 9 million > subscribers, so 2.6 million more are no big deal. > > c) Key media conglomerates -- like Disney, Westinghouse and > Time Warner -- have grown even larger because of recent mergers > and buyouts, so they're hardly inclined to make an issue of such > consolidation of media power. > > 2. Cyberspace continued to be a great subject for thousands > of adulatory news stories over the summer because: > > a) Everybody loves to sit in front of computer screens. > > b) Color graphics are more nifty than ever on the World Wide > Web. > > c) Few journalists seem bothered by the fact that the > Internet is well on its way to becoming mainly a broadcast medium > dominated by a few corporations. > > 3. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright visited a > Jerusalem hospital last Wednesday for a widely reported photo-op > with Israeli victims of terrorism. What are the chances that > Albright will ever visit a Lebanese hospital for a photo-op with > civilian victims of the periodic bombing raids by Israeli air > force jets? > > a) 50-50. > > b) One out of 100. > > c) Roughly equivalent to the odds that you'll win a lottery > and collect several million dollars. > > 4. The death of Princess Diana was the biggest American > media story of the season. That's because: > > a) No other event in the world was more important. > > b) She was extraordinarily nice and helped a lot of > charities. > > c) She was a glamorous mega-celebrity with stylish clothes > who boosted TV ratings and magazine sales as soon as she died. > > 5. In their first two issues of September, the nation's top > news magazines, Time and Newsweek, devoted all four covers and a > total of 129 pages to Princess Diana's life and death. Meanwhile, > those magazines ignored many issues that deeply concern a broad > range of Americans. This is an example of journalism: > > a) Giving people what they want. > > b) Telling people what they want. > > c) Telling people what they want and then giving it to them. > > 6. Many American reporters and pundits explained that Diana > was heroic because she struggled to overcome adversity as a > single mother. However, the same reporters and pundits are much > more likely to vilify than praise this country's millions of low- > income single mothers. That's because: > > a) Princess Diana endured more adversity than impoverished > single mothers do. > > b) Princess Diana tried harder to be a good mom than they > do. > > c) Generally, news reporting and punditry are respectful of > the rich and disdainful of the poor. > > 7. In the mainstream media, hundreds of stories and > commentaries have been very critical of the paparazzi because: > > a) Unlike the photographers who make big money by hunting > down celebrities as quarry, the owners of mainstream media are > committed to placing public service above profits. > > b) It's moral to sell millions of dollars worth of TV > commercials for repetitive specials about a dead princess but > immoral to sell photographs of a live princess. > > c) This has been a wonderful opportunity for mass-media > outlets to tout their own moral superiority in a profitable > manner. > >
