Understanding Media Class 7 Extra Questions Social Science Civics Chapter 6

NCERT Extra Questions for Class 7 Social Science Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Media

Prelude

NOTES: TV, newspapers, radio, internet and other forms of communication are collectively called Media.

• It has its own requirements
• It affects our daily lives
• It can be used as a tool to learn any new things

Question 1.
What is called ‘media1
Answer:

• Everything ranging from the stall at the local fair to the programme that we see on TV is called media.
• Media is the plural form of the word ‘medium’ which describes the various ways through which we communicate in society.
• Media refers to all means of communication. Everything ranging from a phone call to the evening news on TV is called media.

Question 2.
What do we mean by mass media?
Answer:
Television, radio, newspapers etc. that reaches large number of people, or the masses, across the country and the world are called mass media.

Media and Technology

Question 1.
Describe relationship between media and technology.
Answer:
Relationship between Media and Technology:

• Today it is difficult for us to imagine our life without the media.
• Cable television and the widespread use of the Internet is a recent phenomenon.
• They are less than twenty years old.
• The technology that mass media uses keeps changing.
• Newspapers, television and radio reach million of people because they use certain technologies.
• Newspapers and magazines are also the print media.
• TV and radio are termed as the electronic media.
• Newspapers are called print media, because they give news in print.
• Naming of media as print media is related to the different technologies that they use.
• The technology that mass media uses has changed over the years and continues to change even today.

Question 2.
How does changing technology help media to reach more people?
Answer:

• Changing technology, or machines, and making technology more modern, helps media to reach more people.
• It also improves the quality of sound and the images that we see.
• Technology does even more than this.
• It also changes the ways in which we think about our lives.

Today it is quite difficult for us to think of our lives without television.

• Television has enabled us to think that we are the members of a larger global world.
• Television images travel huge distance through satellites and cables.
• This allows us to view news and entertainment channels from other parts of the world.
• Most of the cartoons that we see on television are mostly from Japan or the United States.
• We now; sitting in Chennai or Jammu; can see images of a storm that has hit the coast of Florida in the United States.
• Television has brought the world closer to us.

Media and Money

Question 1.
How are technologies costly these days?
Answer:

• There are different technologies that mass media use.
• They are expensive.
• TV studio in which the newsreader sits has lights, cameras, sound recorders, transmission satellites that involve a lot of money.
• Electronic media also involves money.
• Print media also needs money.
• In a news studio, there are several employees like newsreader, people helping in the broadcast including those who look after the cameras and lights.
• All of them are paid their salaries.
• The technologies that mass media uses keep changing.
• They need a lot of money.
• Hence mass media needs a great deal of money to do this work.
• It is because of this reason that most television channels and newspapers are run by big business houses.

Question 2.
Describe the ways by which mass media thinks of making money?
Answer:
There are many ways through which the mass media makes money.

• Advertisement is the major way. Different products like cars, soaps, chocolates, clothes, electronic goods etc. give advertisements to attract consumers.
• Advertisements are repeated during telecast of matches, movies or other programs.
• The money earned depends upon the popularity of the program and number of times the advertisement is repeated.
• Another way is by doing promotional activities and making their presence felt so that large number of people
• see their channels or buy that magazine or newspaper.
• Newspapers have print advertisement in various categories along with information under the categories like buy or sell about buy, rent or buy and also obituaries.

Media and Democracy

Question 1.
What is the role of media in democracy?
Answer:
Media plays an important role in providing news and discussing events in the country and the world. This helps citizens to learn about functioning of government. Citizens can take action based on the news. They can write letters to ministers or organise a public protest. Signature campaign may be stated to make government rethink on certain issue.

Question 2.
Is media reporting important in democracy?
Answer:
Media plays an important role in providing information. It is important that media reporting should be balanced.

Question 3.
What is a balanced report?
Answer:

• If we read either newspaper we would know only one side of the story.
• From the story in the News of India we term the protestors as a nuisance.
• On the other hand, the story in the India Daily, tells us that the protests are because a lot of livelihoods will be lost, relocation efforts are inadequate.
• Neither of these stories is a balanced report. A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the readers to make up their minds.

Question 4.
On what depends the writing of a balanced report? *
Answer:

• Writing of a balanced report depends on the independent media.
• An independent media means that no one should control and influence its coverage of news.
• No one will impress upon the contents to be included and what should not be included in a news story.
• An independent media is important in a democracy.
• Independent media has reliable and unbiased information.

Question 5.
Describe the causes why media is not said to be independent?
Answer:
The media is far from independent due to certain reasons.
The government has a control over media:

• Due to Censorship a news item, scenes from movies or songs are not shared with public.
• During the Emergency 1975-1977 government censored the media.
• Government censor the films but it really does not censor media coverage of news.
• Despite the absence of censorship on news, most newspapers are unable to provide a balanced story.

This is due to the control of business houses over the media:

• News are given based on the interest of the business houses.
• Media needs money which it gets from advertisements.
• It becomes difficult for them to report against those who give advertisements.
• So media is not independent due to its business links.

Need for support for an issue:

• Media tends to focus on particular aspect to make story interesting:
• Also if they want public support, they focus on one side of the story.

Question 6.
Briefly write about the news report of News of India.
Answer:
News of India reported the event as crackdown on polluting factories.

• It reported the violent protests by owners and workers causing huge traffic jam.
• It said the people protested against the hasty decision of the government.
• It clarified the protestors knew that this would happen.
• It highlighted the fact this closure would reduce pollution in the city.
• Mr. Jain opinion was given where he stated that for clean and green city these factories should be removed.
• The factory owners and workers should accept the relocation offer of the government.

Question 7.
How did the India Daily report the decision?
Answer:
India Daily reported it as loss of livelihood due to closure of factories.

• Workers protested: against the closure of factories.
• According to the owners and workers the fault lies with the municipal corporation.
• It issued licences to factories in residential areas.
• According to this report there were no adequate relocation efforts.
• The new areas are without facilities and development.

Setting Agendas

Question 1.
Write a note on ‘setting agenda’.
Answer:

• The media also plays an important role in deciding what stories to focus on.
• It decides on what is newsworthy.
• The annual function at our school will make the news only if a famous actor is Chief Guest at the function.
• By focussing on particular issues the media influences our thoughts, feelings and actions.
• It brings those issues to our attention.
• Due to its significance it shapes our lives and our thoughts.
• It is commonly said that the media ‘sets the agenda’.
• Very recently the media drew the attention of the public to alarming levels of pesticides in cola drinks.
• They published reports that indicated the high level of pesticides and thus made us aware of the need to regularly monitor these colas according to international quality and safety standards.
• They did this despite the government’s resistance.
• The media created awareness about the harmful effects of Coca Cola.
• The government after careful examination declared that cocas are safe. Media
  also fell in line.

Question 2.
What is the positive aspect of media reporting?
Answer:
Media help us to focus on an issue that affect our lives. It help us to understand and know things that we are not aware of.

Question 3.
Explain several instances when media fails to focus on issues which are important for us.
Answer:

• There are several instances when the media fails to focus on issues which are important for us.
• Drinking water is a major problem in the country.
• Every year, thousands of people suffer due to lack of safe drinking water.
• Media does not focus on this issue.
• The media focuses (on) such issues like the fashion week which provide(s) them huge money.
• But it did not report the demolition of slums in Mumbai at all as the slum dwellers did not pay them.
• As citizens of a democracy the media has a very important role to play in our lives because it is the media which highlights the burning issues.

Question 4.
Write a concise account of Local Media.
Answer:
Local Media

• Most of the big houses of media are not interested in covering ‘small’ issues that involve ordinary people and their daily lives.
• Hence several local groups have come forward to start their own media.
• Several people use community radio to tell farmers about the prices of different crops and advise them on the use of seeds and fertilizers.
• Others make documentary films with fairly cheap and easily available video cameras on the real-life conditions of the poor communities.
• A newspaper called Khabar Lahriya is a fortnightly and run by eight Dalit women in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh.
• Written in the local language ‘Bundeli’ this eight page newspaper reports on Dalit issues and cases of violence against women and political corruption.
• Such media is termed as local media. The media highlights the working of the government.
• In this way it ‘sets the agenda’.
• Sometimes the government imposes censorship and gets published what it wants.

Question 5.
What do you mean by “setting the agenda*?
Answer:
The media decides the issues and stories to focus on. This is called “setting the agenda”. The government through censorship prevents certain stories to be published. Media’s relationship with business houses affects balanced reporting.

It is therefore, important that we do not rely too much on one sided factual reporting. We should ask questions like what is the information I am getting and what is not provided.

Question 6.
What is censorship and factual information?
Answer:
Censorship refers to the power that the government has to disallow media from showing or publishing certain issues.
Factual information is the information about a particular news or issue as given by the report.

Multiple Choice Questions

Prelude

Question 1.
Which of the following are forms of media?
(a) T.V.
(b) Radio
(c) Newspaper
(d) All of these
Answer:
All of these

Media and Technology

Question 1.
Which one of the following is print media?
(a) Newspaper
(b) T.V.
(c) Radio
(d) Television
Answer:
Newspaper

Question 2.
Which has brought the world closer to us?
(a) Television
(b) Taperecorder
(c) Typewriter
(d) None of these
Answer:
Television

Question 3.
Which type of media offer a large variety of information to suit the taste of different readers?
(a) Electronic media
(b) Print media
(c) Mass media
(d) All of these
Answer:
Print media

Media and Money

Question 1.
Which is the main source of income of media?
(a) Advertisements
(b) Articles
(c) General news
(d) None of these
Answer:
Advertisements

Question 2.
On which basis are the cost of advertisement set?
(a) Popularity of channel
(b) Popularity of product
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these
Answer:
Popularity of channel

Question 3.
Which word is used to refer to a T.V. or radio programme that is widely transmitted?
(a) Publish
(b) Broadcast
(c) Censorship
(d) Public protest
Answer:
Censorship

Media and Democracy

Question 1.
When did India censor the media?
(а) When there was Emergency in 1975-77
(b) When P.M. Indira Gandhi was Assassinated
(c) When bomb blasts took place
(d) None of the above
Answer:
When there was Emergency in 1975-77

Setting Agendas

Question 1.
Government control over the media is known as:
(a) Factual
(b) Censorship
(c) Independence
(d) Emergency
Answer:
Censorship

Objective Type Questions

Question 1.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
1. Independent media plays a …………………. role in a democratic country.
2. ………………… and …………………………. are a recent phenomena in the media.
3. Mass media earns money through …………….. .
4. With typewriters, journalism underwent a change in the ……………….. .
5. At times media is prevented from publishing a story, this is called ………………….. .
Answer:
1. significant
2. Cable T.V., Internet
3. advertisements
4. electronic, 1940’s
5. censorship.

Question 2.
State whether the given statements are True or False.
1. Media is the plural form of the word middle.
2. Television has made us think of ourselves as global citizens.
3. Changing Technologies help media to reach more people.
4. Balanced report discusses only one point of view or one side of story.
5. Media can be divided into print media and electronic media.
Answer:
1. False
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True

Question 3.
Match the contents of Column A with that of Column B

Answer:
1. (c)
2. (d)
3. (b)
4. (e)
5. (a).

Extra Questions for Class 7 Social Science

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