COM 201: Exam 2 Reading Study Guide
Note: Although all of these questions are in short answer form, some of them might appear on
the test in multiple choice form. However, they will still be asking about the same content, so if
you can answer the short answer version of a question, you should be able to answer the
multiple choice version.
1. In the article “Racial profiling in the newsroom” Pritchard and Stonbely found that white
journalists are given different stories to cover than journalists of color. Drawing from this
article, identify and explain one way in which a journalist’s race affects the type of story
they are assigned, and identify and explain one reason this is a problem.
2. In the article “What the mainstream media can learn from Jon Stewart” Smolkin
discusses why Jon Stewart and The Daily Show have not only become comedy successes,
but an important source of news for many viewers. Identify and explain two lessons that
Smolkin argues journalists can take away from The Daily Show.
3. In the Ted Talk video “Gaming can make a better world” Jane McGonigal argues that
gaming can be harnessed to solve world problems, and discusses four positive traits that
gamers possess that could be used in approaching these problems. Identify and explain
two of these traits.
4. In Tom Bissell’s reading “Thirteen ways of looking at a shooter” he offers a series of
reflections on first-person shooter games. Identify and explain two issues he has with this
genre of game.
5. In “School of rock”, James Parker discusses several ways in which video games like
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have altered players’ experiences with rock music. Identify
two of these changes, and explain how they might be different than experiences with rock
music consumed through other mediums.
6. Sam Anderson’s article “Just one more game…” discusses his ambiguous feelings toward
what he refers to as “stupid games.” Explain what a “stupid game” is according to
Anderson, and provide two examples of games that might fit this definition.
7. In the article "After laughter, Action", Martin discusses how satire (The Daily Show in
particular) has had an effect on the news. Identify and discuss two of these effects.
8. In the article "The Godfather Wars", the author describes several ways that the real life
mob was involved during the production of The Godfather. This allowed the author (and
the film) to discuss several stereotypes connected to the mob. Identify and explain two
ways the mob was discussed as a stereotype.
9. In the article "Examining the Jeremy Lin Phenomenon Through a Critical Lens", Chito
Childs compares Jeremy Lin's experience in the media to other forms of racism in past
media and explains several stereotypes that undermines Jeremy Lin's success as an NBA
player. Identify and explain two of these comparisons.
10. In "Writing the Jersey Shore in the age of Reality TV", the author explains how his
Jersey Shore was different from the television show's version of Jersey Shore. Name one
distinct memory of the author's Jersey Shore that was extremely different than the show,
and name one way that the show portrays the Jersey Shore. Then explain one technique
the television show uses to evoke a "sense of place".
11. Identify and explain two examples from Erica Chito Childs’s “Examining the Jeremy Lin
phenomenon through a critical lens” the author offers as proof that America is not a
“post-racial” society.
12. Identify and explain one factor Frank Ahrens gives for the rise of FM radio in “Don’t
Touch That Dial,” and then identify and explain one factor Ahrens describes as a problem
with its current state.
13. Name one male and one female stereotype from C.R. Berg’s “Stereotyping in Films in
General and of the Hispanic in particular,” and then explain why each is problematic.
14. Explain the situation that led to the NAACP releasing its report “Out of focus, out of
sync, take 4” and list 3 steps if offers for diversifying Hollywood.
15. Based on the article "What the mainstream media can learn about Jon Stewart" identify
and explain one argument the author gives for why The Daily Show is a legitimate news
source and one argument for why it is not.
16. In the article "Hollywood stop hazing sorority girls" identify the authors' take on ABCs
show Greek and give two examples the article highlights for why she feels that way.
17. Consider the articles "What the mainstream media can learn from Jon Stewart" and
"After laughter, action". Identify and explain one potential benefit and one potential
danger of satirical news shows such as The Daily Show, as discussed by Smolkin and
Martin.
18. Briefly identify and discuss the two main findings of the study presented in the article
"Racial profiling in the newsroom” by Pritchard and Stonbely.
19. According to Chito Childs's article, Jeremy Lin's phenomenon should be analyzed
through a critical lens by looking at how his story can be interpreted through classic
stereotypes about Asian American men. Identify two of the stereotypes discussed in this
article and explain how they played a role in Lin's media portrayal.
20. Author Kelly Hankin of “And Introducing… The Female Director: Documentaries about
Women Filmmakers as Feminist Activism” describes several challenges that female
filmmakers face. Describe two challenges and explain how they influence female
filmmakers.
21. In Charles Ramirez Berg’s article “Stereotyping in Films in General and of the Hispanic
in Particular”, he discusses several perspectives of stereotyping. He explains how
researchers in those perspectives have different ways to think about what stereotyping is
and how it functions. Name one of the four perspectives and explain how it explains
stereotypes functioning.