UGC NET/JRF EXAM, Mass Communication and Journalism, September-2024

Total Questions: 100

31. Who wrote the semind book 'Public Opinion' published in 1922?

Correct Answer: 2. Walter Lippmann
Solution:The seminal book ‘Public Opinion’, published in 1922, was written by Walter Lippmann, an American writer, political commentator, and media critic.

• The book is considered a foundational text in media studies and political communication.
• Lippmann introduced the concept of the “pseudo-environment,” emphasizing how media constructs a reality that influences public opinion more than direct experiences.
• He argued that people respond not to the actual environment, but to the pictures in their heads formed by media representations.
• His work laid the groundwork for concepts such as agenda-setting and framing theory, still central in media and communication research today.

32. One of the best known Reading Ease formulas developed in 1948 was developed by whom?

Correct Answer: 1. R. Flesch
Solution:The Flesch Reading Ease formula, one of the most well-known readability formulas, was developed in 1948 by Rudolf Flesch.

• It is designed to assess the ease of reading and understanding English-language texts.
• The formula uses a mathematical equation based on:
□ Average sentence length (words per sentence)
□ Average number of syllables per word
• The result is a score from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate easier readability:
□ 90–100: Very easy (understood by an average 11-year-old student)
□ 60–70: Plain English (easily understood by 13–15-year-old students)
□ 0–30: Very difficult (best understood by university graduates)
• It is widely used in education, publishing, and legal writing to evaluate text complexity.

33. The 2010 meeting of the European Summit on measurement which adopted a statement of principles to guide measurement and evaluation of public relations is known as:

Correct Answer: 4. Barcelona Declaration
Solution:The Barcelona Declaration of Principles was adopted during the 2010 European Summit on Measurement, held in Barcelona, Spain.

• It was a landmark moment in the field of Public Relations (PR) and Communication measurement.
• The declaration outlined seven key principles that guide the measurement and evaluation of PR campaigns, including:

  1. Importance of goal setting and measurement
  2. Measuring outcomes, not just outputs
  3. The need for transparency and replicability in measurement
    • The principles rejected the use of Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) as a valid metric, emphasizing quantitative and qualitative analysis instead.
    • These principles have since been updated as the Barcelona Principles 2.0 and 3.0 to reflect the evolving media landscape.

34. Which of the following is a common reliability coefficient?

Correct Answer: 2. Croubach's Alpha
Solution:Cronbach’s Alpha (often misspelled as Croubach's) is one of the most widely used reliability coefficients in research and statistics.

• It measures the internal consistency or reliability of a set of scale or test items.
• The coefficient value ranges between 0 and 1, with:
□ ≥ 0.9: Excellent
□ ≥ 0.8: Good
□ ≥ 0.7: Acceptable
□ < 0.6: Poor
• For example, in a questionnaire measuring “attitude,” Cronbach’s Alpha checks how closely related the items are as a group.
• It is especially used in psychometrics, survey research, and communication studies to validate the consistency of scales.

35. 'News is something somebody somewhere doesn't want printed. All the rest is Advertising'. This statement is attributed to:

Correct Answer: 1. Lord North Cliffe
Solution:The quote “News is something somebody somewhere doesn’t want printed. All the rest is advertising” is attributed to Lord Northcliffe (Alfred Harmsworth), a British newspaper magnate.

• He founded and led several influential publications, including the Daily Mail and The Times.
• Northcliffe was a pioneer of modern mass-market journalism and understood the power of the press in shaping public discourse.
• This quote emphasizes the role of journalism in challenging power and exposing truths, distinguishing investigative reporting from commercial content.
• It remains a powerful statement about press freedom and the watchdog function of the media.

36. Orson Wells, film Citizen kane is based upon the career of:

Correct Answer: 3. William Rudolph Hearst
Solution:The film Citizen Kane (1941), directed by Orson Welles, is widely believed to be loosely based on the life and career of William Randolph Hearst, a powerful American newspaper magnate.

• Hearst built a vast media empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was known for sensationalist journalism, often referred to as yellow journalism.
• The character of Charles Foster Kane in the film mirrors Hearst’s rise to wealth, political influence, and eventual decline.
• The film explores themes of power, corruption, media control, and personal isolation—all seen as reflective of Hearst’s real-life persona.
• Although Welles and co-writer Herman J. Mankiewicz denied a direct biography, Hearst was so angered by the film that he attempted to block its release and banned any mention of it in his newspapers.

37. The book 'The Structure of Scientific Revolution' was written by:

Correct Answer: 3. Thomus Kuhn
Solution:The book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was written by Thomas Kuhn and first published in 1962.

• This landmark work introduced the concept of “paradigm shifts” in the history of science.
• Kuhn argued that scientific progress is not linear but occurs through revolutions in which one dominant scientific framework is replaced by another.
• Examples include the shift from Ptolemaic to Copernican astronomy, or Newtonian mechanics to Einstein’s relativity.
• His theory changed how scholars in various fields—beyond just science—viewed knowledge development, influencing philosophy, sociology, and communication theory.

38. Who is the originator of the theory of orientalism?

Correct Answer: 2. Edward Said
Solution:Edward Said, a Palestinian-American scholar, is the originator of the theory of Orientalism, which he elaborated in his influential 1978 book titled Orientalism.

• The theory critiques how Western cultures have historically represented Eastern societies (the “Orient”) as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and inferior.
• Said argued that such representations served as justification for colonial domination and reflected power-knowledge structures, not objective truth.
• Orientalism became a foundational concept in postcolonial studies, cultural studies, and critical theory, reshaping how literature, media, and academia approached the East–West binary.

39. Who coined the term Mc Donaldization?

Correct Answer: 3. George Ritzer
Solution:The term McDonaldization was coined by George Ritzer, an American sociologist, in his 1993 book The McDonaldization of Society.

• McDonaldization refers to the process by which the principles of the fast-food industry—efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control—spread to other sectors of society.
• Ritzer argued that these principles shape institutions such as education, healthcare, and media, often leading to dehumanization and loss of individuality.
• It is a critique of bureaucratization and cultural homogenization, showing how corporate logic pervades everyday life in a globalized world.

40. Which type of research a necessarily involves the collection of data at different points of time?

Correct Answer: 1. Longitudinal Research
Solution:Longitudinal research is the type of research that necessarily involves the collection of data at different points of time.

• This method tracks the same variables or subjects over extended periods, allowing researchers to observe changes, patterns, and cause-effect relationships.
• It is commonly used in fields like media effects research, psychology, education, and health sciences.
• For example, a longitudinal study might examine how children’s exposure to television affects their academic performance over 10 years.
• It contrasts with cross-sectional research, which collects data only once, at a single point in time.