NowNews, although still the most popular magazine covering cultural

Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?

NowNews, although still the most popular magazine covering cultural events in Kalopolis, has recently suffered a significant drop in advertising revenue because of falling circulation. Many readers have begun buying a competing magazine that, at 50 cents per copy, costs less than NowNews at $1.50 per copy. In order to boost circulation and thus increase advertising revenue, NowNews's publisher has proposed making it available at no charge, but this proposal has a serious drawback, since _______.

(A) Those Kalopolis residents with the greatest interest in cultural events are regular readers of both magazines.
(B) One reason NowNews's circulation fell was that its competitor's reporting on cultural events was superior.
(C) The newsstands and stores that currently sell NowNews will no longer carry it if it is being given away for free.
(D) At present, 10 percent of the total number of copies of each issue of NowNews are distributed free to students on college campuses in the Kalopolis area.
(E) NowNews's competitor would begin to lose large amounts of money if it were forced to lower its cover price.


Type: Inference Fill-In-The-Blank
Boil It Down: ___ -> Making NowNews free has major drawback
Missing Information: A major drawback to making the publication free. Something that will likely negatively impact circulation.
Goal: Find the option that offers a drawback to the proposal to make NowNews free
Analysis: Inference Fill-In-The-Blanks are part of the Inference question family because the context in which the blank occurs forces a specific objective for the blank to satisfy. We can infer what type of information must go in the blank. Here, the context FORCES the information in the blank to be information that would show a substantial flaw in the plan to make NowNews free.


A) This option does not present a substantial flaw in two critical aspects: 1) We don’t know how significant a group those with the most interest in cultural events is. This group could be rather small for all we know, and thus not important. 2) Even if this particular group reads both magazines anyway, it’s not clear why making the magazine free would have a serious drawback.

B) If anything, this option might provide a factor that could help the plan succeed. If NowNews’ competitor has superior content, then NowNews might need a different method to compete, such as a lower price, or even free circulation.

C) KABOOM! If NowNews were to lose access to the newsstands and stores that currently sell the magazine, then this option exposes an aspect of the plan that could prove devastating for circulation.

D) If 10% of NowNews’ current circulation is already free, that leaves another 90% that could also be made free, so it’s not like the 10% that’s already free disrupts the opportunities that might come from making the entire magazine free.

E) A total 180. This option actually provides a major benefit from the proposal to make NowNews free if its major competitor could lose large amounts of money if it were forced to lower its price (to compete with NowNews).