MCOM 210
Basic Journalism
Dr. Wally Hastings
Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD 57401
 

Here is an example of a previous news quiz.  This quiz was given on October 9, 1996, and covered news for the two weeks preceding that date.

The answers to these questions can be found at the bottom of the page, or you may click on the question number to go directly to the answer.
 

Answer each question briefly. One point per question.

Questions 1-3: Answer each question briefly.

    1. What was the immediate cause of the recent outbreak of Moslem-Jewish violence in Israel and the West Bank? 

    2. Something happened on Wall Street this week that has never happened before. What was it? 

    3. Which four teams won the first round of the major league baseball playoffs? 

Questions 4-7: Identify the following people or things and explain why they have been in the news recently. 
    4. Paul D. Jensen, Jr., of Pierre 

    5. Elaine Minch, a pregnant 20-year-old from Aberdeen 

    6. Goldie Hawn 

    7. Shannon Lucid 

Questions 8-10: Choose the best answer from among those given.
    8. A new book by Alexander Cockburn charges that Sen. Larry Pressler is gay and makes other negative statements about him. How did Pressler's challenger, Tim Johnson, respond to the book? 
    _____ He ran campaign ads quoting from the book. 
    _____ He arranged for Mr. Cockburn to tour South Dakota to publicize the charges. 
    _____ He denied the truth of the charges and called on his supporters not to spread the rumors. 
    _____ He came out of the closet and announced that he was gay, also. 
9. According to an Exponent article, why will the Board of Regents be looking at your GPA?
_____ All students with less than a 2.0 GPA in any semester will now flunk out. 
_____ All students who receive a GPA of 3.8 or higher will be guaranteed scholarships. 
_____ A minimum GPA of 3.0 in a student=s major will now be required for graduation. 
_____ Under new guidelines, students must meet higher minimum GPAs to maintain satisfactory progress. 

10. Why does Richard Gephardt hope the Democrats will regain the majority in the House of Representatives this November?
_____ Gephardt is a leading Democratic fund-raiser and will make several million dollars in consulting fees. 
_____ Gephardt bet $1 million at a Las Vegas casino that the Dems would return to power. 
_____ If they do, he will become Speaker of the House. 
_____ Gephardt is an environmental activist who is concerned about the impact of Republican legislation on our nation=s forests. 

And here are the answers:
 

  1. Israeli authorities opened a new entry to a tourist tunnel that runs under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

2. The Dow Jones average of leading industrial stocks went above 6,000 for the first time ever. 

3. Baltimore, New York, St. Louis, Atlanta 

4. Jensen, 14, was found guilty of murder, kidnapping, and robbery in his trial for killing a Fort Pierre taxi driver. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole. 

5. Minch was the subject of a cover story in Sunday's paper because 40 years ago she was the victim of a murder that has yet to be solved. 

6. Hawn stars in the new "women's" movie, The First Wives Club, along with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler. The film is about three women getting revenge on husbands who dumped them for younger women. 

7. The 53-year-old biochemist/astronaut returned to earth after 6 months orbiting the earth aboard the Russian Mir space station. 

8. The third answer (he denied the truth of the charges) is correct. 

9. The fourth answer (students must meet higher minimum GPAs) is correct. 

10. The third answer (he would have become Speaker of the House) is correct. 

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This page last updated on August 12, 2000.