Preparation Manual

Domain I—Foundations of Journalism

Competency 001—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the history and development of print and nonprint media and of the functions, limitations, and influence of print and nonprint media in society.

1. A primary function of an independent press in a free and democratic society is to:

1. provide news that is fair, balanced, and accessible to all people.
2. maintain social order by publishing stories that promote democratic values.
3. manage the way in which information is disseminated and presented to the public.
4. entertain audiences while supplying them with timely information on their communities.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the concept, history, and development of a free and independent press in the United States. A primary function of an independent press in a democracy is to provide citizens with information that is fair, balanced, easily accessible, and free from the influence of special interests. Along with the rights of a free and independent press comes the responsibility to help democracy work. In a democracy, people need information that is credible, reliable, and truthful, and they need to know where it comes from. Journalists have a responsibility to report the news fairly and objectively, regardless of their own views and opinions. Balance is achieved by presenting all sides of a story so that readers, viewers, and listeners are fully informed and free to form their own views.

---

2. Which of the following topics in the history of journalism best illustrates how print media have been used to influence the political opinions and actions of individuals in the United States?

1. the innovation of including literary content and humorous stories pioneered by The New-England Courant newspaper in the early 1700s
2. the inception and evolution of The Christian Science Monitor as an international daily newspaper under the direction of Mary Baker Eddy in the early 1900s
3. increased coverage of "news of the day," including information from police stations and criminal courts, in the penny press newspapers of the mid 1800s
4. the rise of yellow journalism due to the newspaper wars between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer II in the late 1800s

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which print and nonprint media have influenced aspects of political, social, and cultural life in the United States. The intense newspaper rivalry between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer II in the 1890s gave rise to news writing that used melodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers; the style became known as yellow journalism. Pulitzer's New York World and Hearst's New York Journal used sensationalized stories and graphic drawings, including competing cartoons featuring a "yellow kid," to fuel public passion over conflicts with Spain. With a team of reporters in Cuba, Hearst in particular published articles of brutality, cruelty, and starvation designed to tug at the heartstrings of Americans and sway public opinion. After the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, the Hearst newspapers blamed the Spanish, and soon U.S. public opinion demanded intervention in what became the Spanish-American War.

---

Competency 002—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of laws, judicial decisions, and ethical principles related to print and nonprint media.

3. According to the 1988 Supreme Court decision in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case, it is possible for a public school to censor a student publication when:

1. the personal beliefs and values of school officials clash with the beliefs and values of the student publication's editorial board.
2. the editor of the publication plans to publish articles that are critical of teachers, administrators, or school board members.
3. school officials offer a reasonable justification for censorship based on legitimate educational goals or purposes.
4. student journalists resist self-censorship following consistent complaints from students and parents/guardians about the publication's content.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the impact of significant Supreme Court decisions on journalism and scholastic journalism. In the 1988 case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision of public high school administrators at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri, to censor student stories concerning teen pregnancy and the effects of divorce on children. By a 5-3 vote, the Court held that school officials could censor school-sponsored student publications when they have purposes reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns. The ruling upset nearly two decades of law that had given student journalists extensive First Amendment protections. In Hazelwood, the court reasoned that private student speech differs from student speech that occurs in school-sponsored activities, and that educators have greater authority to control the latter because the public might reasonably believe such speech bears "the imprimatur of the school." Court decisions since Hazelwood have clarified that school officials do not have unlimited rights to censor student publications.

---

Domain II—Journalism Principles and Processes

Competency 003—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the role of mass media in society and of skills and criteria for analyzing and evaluating mass media.

4. A television news helicopter crew is first on the scene the afternoon a tornado sweeps through a midwestern town. The crew's aerial footage is fed to a national news bureau, which in turn arranges to broadcast the footage that night on its national nightly network news program. Using this footage with a news report on the tornado will most significantly enhance which of the following characteristics of the coverage?

1. prominence
2. proximity
3. timeliness
4. uniqueness

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of news values, such as impact, proximity, timeliness, prominence, uniqueness, and human interest. Timeliness is one of several desirable qualities or values that help enhance the newsworthiness of a story. Stories brought to the public's attention ahead of the competition are of particular value, especially in light of today’s 24-hour news cycle. Using just-shot footage of a tornado's aftermath on the same day the tornado occurred lends immediacy to the news report and significantly increases the effectiveness of the report.

---

Competency 004—Demonstrate broad and comprehensive understanding of types of information sources and of skills, techniques, and methods for gathering and evaluating information.

5. In an article about the creative strategies a school district uses to provide students with opportunities to use new technology, a journalist writes about a local corporation's role in providing new laptop computers to a middle school. The journalist includes information distributed by the news bureau of the corporation in the article after independently verifying the information. In this situation, the journalist has a responsibility to:

1. identify the information that came from the news bureau and specify that the corporation was the source of the information.
2. inform readers that they should make up their own minds about the reliability of the information provided by the news bureau.
3. include in the story a justification for using information from a corporate news bureau.
4. tell readers that the article should be considered a business announcement rather than a news story.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of skills and techniques for identifying, locating, and evaluating sources of news and information. A news bureau is an office for gathering and distributing news. Media outlets, universities, government agencies, and public and private corporations use news bureaus to coordinate news and public affairs information. A corporate news bureau is likely to generate news that portrays the corporation in a favorable light. This type of news often originates from press releases written by public relations professionals working for the corporation. Therefore, a journalist who plans to use or reprint such information has an ethical responsibility to verify or conduct independent research on the subject matter, as well as to specify the source of the information for the audience.

---

6. A high school journalist has spent weeks gathering information in order to develop a story on changes in graduation requirements. The student has transcripts of interviews with teachers and students, data and news releases from the state department of education, and copies of practice graduation tests. Which of the following steps is most important for the student to take first in organizing and synthesizing the information for the story?

1. evaluating the credibility of informal and institutional sources, then verifying the accuracy of the data gathered
2. rereading the interview transcripts and choosing the quotes with the most impact to use in the story
3. crafting a first paragraph that highlights the strongest points of the story and presenting it to the editor for approval
4. deciding on the story's focus and its primary points to get across, then creating an outline to support those points

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of methods of organizing, selecting, and synthesizing information. According to the Indiana Academic Standards for English Language Arts—Journalism, students should learn to develop coherent and focused stories that demonstrate well-researched information, appropriate journalistic structure and style, and a tightly reasoned flow of ideas. In this situation, the student has chosen a topic for a story, conducted interviews with people who will most likely be affected by the story, and gathered relevant data and information from reliable sources. The most appropriate next step to take in developing this story is to decide on the story's focus and main points, then create an outline to support those points. An appropriate story focus would be to explain the specific changes in graduation requirements, supported by information that addresses topics such as why people should care about the changes, who made the decisions, who will be affected, what will be the likely impact, and when the changes will occur.

---

Domain III—Writing and Editing

Competency 005—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the principles, values, forms, and functions of journalism.

7. In which of the following sentences to be published in a school newspaper should the writer be sure to properly attribute the source?

1. By midday the gray, heavy storm clouds hanging over the city finally looked ready to break the long drought.
2. Huge crowds gathered in front of the capitol this evening in preparation for the senator's announcement.
3. This year, the city is facing the largest budget crisis of the last decade, and cuts to education and state services are increasingly likely.
4. As Jones left the mound, everyone in the stands rose to their feet, and the retiring pitcher exited the field to thunderous applause.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the use of accurate quotations and paraphrases and proper attribution. In this question, sentence C requires attribution because it appears to be a statement of fact or probability that originated from a particular source, rather than from a firsthand observation. Journalists should make it clear to the audience where information has been obtained; attribution serves this purpose. Information from sources must be properly attributed, regardless of whether it is paraphrased, summarized, or quoted directly.

---

8. Use the excerpt below from a newspaper article to answer the question that follows.

Facing growing criticism, mayoral candidate Taliah Barenholtz today released her tax returns for the past three years. A spokesperson for Barenholtz's campaign assured reporters the newly public records would answer questions regarding the candidate's business dealings with developer Jason Mardeck.

Which of the following headlines would be most effective for a local news story with this lead?

1. Questions about Mardeck to be answered
2. Candidate, developer release records
3. Returns public, Barenholtz said
4. Barenholtz releases tax returns

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of methods of creating effective leads, headlines, captions, and cutlines. Response D conforms to standard journalistic guidelines for headlines. Effective headlines should be simple, direct, and capture the essence of a story, which should be found in the lead or introduction. Headlines typically use the active voice, a logical sentence structure, and present-tense verbs when referring to past or present events. The first word in a headline is capitalized, as are proper nouns. In most publications, all other headline words begin with lower-case letters. Terminal punctuation is not used, and other punctuation is used sparingly.

---

9. When a journalist refers to a particular Web site in a print or online news story, the journalist should:

1. incorporate the site's Internet address or URL, including the http:// or ftp:// protocol, into the text of the story.
2. provide readers with background information on the site, such as the site's mission, purpose, and sponsor.
3. add the site's Internet address or URL as a separate entry in a font different from the story text at the end of the story.
4. advise readers that they may contact the publication's managing editor for further information on the Web site.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of conventions of standard journalistic language, format, and style. According to standard journalistic conventions, when referring to a particular Web site in a print or online news story, the journalist should incorporate the site's Internet address or URL into the main body of the story. This helps clarify the location and type of Web site for the reader and, in online stories, often provides a direct electronic link to the Web site. Associated Press style guidelines recommend including the http:// or ftp:// protocol at the beginning of a Web site address or URL and following the spelling and capitalization conventions of the site owner.

---

Domain IV—Media Design and Media Literacy

Competency 006—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the processes and conventions of writing and editing for a variety of print and nonprint media.

10. An Internet service provider (ISP) informs the manager of a school television station that the station's Web site has exceeded its allocated bandwidth. Which of the following recent changes to the Web site is most likely responsible?

1. the addition of a number of e-mail addresses in the "Contact Us" section
2. a new section that allows visitors to download video and audio files
3. the addition of a "Guestbook" section that allows visitors to leave comments
4. a new photo gallery of news-related images

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the use of a variety of digital media formats, including media convergence, Internet, podcasts, blogs, and other evolving technologies. When a Web site offers video and audio files that can be downloaded, adequate daily bandwidth must be available to handle the data transfer. Bandwidth is the amount of traffic, or data transfer, that is allowed to occur between a hosting Web site, in this case the school television station's site, and the rest of the Internet. Each time someone views a Web page or downloads a file, bandwidth is used; downloading audio and video clips uses a lot of bandwidth. Even when an Internet Service Provider (ISP) offers unlimited bandwidth, capacity is unlimited only up to the maximum allowed by the connection.

---

Competency 007—Demonstrate a broad and comprehensive understanding of the principles, elements, tools, and techniques of multimedia design and production.

11. In a 30-minute local television news broadcast, four minutes are dedicated to a lead story about a robbery at an area business. Two- to three-minute segments report on an incident in which an individual was arrested for assault and on recent developments in a high-profile criminal trial. Shorter amounts of time are dedicated to national news, human interest features, sports news, and weather. This broadcast would most likely influence public attitudes toward crime by:

1. building support among viewers for aggressive anticrime legislation.
2. leading viewers to conclude that crime is a serious problem in their area.
3. creating the perception among viewers that crime rates are historically high.
4. encouraging viewers to report suspected criminal activity to area authorities.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which mass media shape public opinion, attitudes, and behaviors. When coverage of crime stories overshadows other types of news in a local television broadcast, viewers are likely to conclude that crime is a serious problem in their area. Research suggests that public knowledge about crime and justice is largely derived from the media, and crime is often the most prominently featured subject in local media markets. Stories about crime provide the ingredients for successful marketing of newscasts—they focus on concrete events, make an impact on ordinary people, and often include drama and emotion. The ways in which the news media report on and contextualize crime help shape a shared public consciousness of crime as a widespread and urgent problem that needs to be resolved.

---

12. Which of the following statements describes a major concern associated with the increasing concentration of mass media ownership?

1. The overall quality of broadcast media may decline.
2. Burdensome regulation of media industries may win support.
3. Incentives for media companies to innovate may be weakened.
4. The range of voices available to media consumers may be limited.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the roles and influences of business and advertising in mass media. A major concern associated with the increasing concentration of mass media ownership is that the range of diverse and independent voices available to media consumers may be limited. In recent years, due to business and economic forces, many media industries have become concentrated and dominated by a small number of individuals and corporations. Critics of consolidation wonder whether tight control of a local media market by only a few can dependably serve the public interest. In addition, corporate media reliance on advertising revenue creates a climate of consumerism rather than the free exchange of ideas; the need to deliver audiences to advertisers may preclude media content that might be complex or controversial in areas of cultural expression, artistry, and scientific and sociological knowledge.

---