As governor, Rick Perry once made headlines for killing a __________ while jogging.

Ans. to #1

Answer: c

Ans. to #2

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain patterns of declining news consumption, particularly from traditional news sources.
2. Explain patterns of declining political knowledge.
3. Compare and contrast news consumption patterns for younger and older generations in terms of quantity of news and news sources.
4. State and defend a position regarding implications of news trends.

Ans. to #3

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Define and explain media bias.
2. Explain perceptions of a liberal bias, particularly in terms of preferences of reporters.
3. Explain perceptions of a conservative bias, particularly in terms of corporate ownership.
4. State and defend a position about bias in the Texas media.

Ans. to #4

Answer: An ideal response will:

1. Explain the nature of frontier newspapers as partisan outlets for commentary on public issues.
2. Explain how Texas's major newspapers were part of the conservative establishment during the twentieth century prior to the 1970s.
3. Explain that the 1970s and 1980s saw a rise in the professionalism and quality of Texas newspapers and a change in their role, from supporter of the conservative establishment to more of a watchdog.
4. Explain that newspapers are now more likely to be owned by large conglomerates but that newspapers still retain significant editorial autonomy.
5. Explain that newspapers have declined in importance as a news source.
6. Explain that newspapers have cut staff, including reporters at the Capitol, so they are less capable of covering government and politics and their quality has suffered.

Ans. to #5

Answer: An ideal response will:

1. Identify and define sound bites, horse-race coverage, feel-good spots, spin, and negative ads.
2. Explain that compared to campaigns of the past, contemporary campaigns in Texas, particularly for statewide office, are constructed around the media so there is less emphasis on stump speeches, door-to-door campaigning, etc.
3. Note that money has become more important in campaigns.
4. Explain that citizens have become more cynical about politics as a result of the nature of campaigns.

Ans. to #6

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that younger individuals have lower levels of news consumption than older individuals.
2. Explain that younger individuals rely less on traditional news sources such as print and television and more on online sources.
3. Explain that lower consumption by younger individuals may be a product of not seeing the importance of government actions, of deficiencies in education, and of increased entertainment alternatives.
4. Explain that generational changes and comfort with technology can help account for differences in preferred sources.