In the early years of television, Vladimir Zworykin was considered the

Question

In the early years of television, Vladimir Zworykin was considered the device’s inventor, at least publicly. His loudest champion was his boss David Sarnoff, the president of RCA and the “father of television,” as he was and is widely regarded. Modern historians agree that Philo Farnsworth, a self-educated prodigy who was the first to transmit live images, was television’s technical inventor. But Farnsworth’s contributions have gone relatively unnoticed, since it was Sarnoff, not Farnsworth, who put televisions into living rooms. More importantly, it was Sarnoff who successfully borrowed from the radio industry the paradigm of advertiserfunded programming, a paradigm still dominant today. In contrast, Farnsworth lacked business savvy and was unable to realize his dream of television as an educational tool.

Perhaps Sarnoff simply adapted his business ideas from other industries such as newspapers, replacing the revenue from subscriptions and newsstand purchases with that of television set sales, but Sarnoff promoted himself as a visionary. Some critics argue that Sarnoff’s construct has damaged programming content. Others contend that it merely created a democratic platform allowing audiences to choose the programming they desire.

Perhaps Sarnoff simply adapted his business ideas from other industries such as newspapers, replacing the revenue from subscriptions and newsstand purchases with that of television set sales, but Sarnoff promoted himself as a visionary. Some critics argue that Sarnoff’s construct has damaged programming content. Others contend that it merely created a democratic platform allowing audiences to choose the programming they desire.    1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) correct public misconception about Farnsworth’s role in developing early television programs
(B) debate the influence of television on popular culture
(C) challenge the current public perception of Vladimir Zworykin
(D) chronicle the events that led from the development of radio to the invention of the television
(E) describe and debate Sarnoff’s influence on the public perception of television’s inception 
 
 2  
 2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph of the passage that

(A) television shows produced by David Sarnoff and Vladimir Zworykin tended to earn negative reviews
(B) educational programs cannot draw as large an audience as sports programs
(C) a number of critics feel that Sarnoff’s initial decision to earn television revenue through advertising has had a positive or neutral impact on content
(D) educational programs that are aired in prime time, the hours during which the greatest number of viewers are watching television, are less likely to earn a profit than those that are aired during the daytime hours
(E) in matters of programming, the audience’s preferences should be more influential than those of the advertisers

3  
 3. According to the passage, the television industry earned revenue from

(A) advertising only
(B) advertising and the sale of television sets
(C) advertising and subscriptions
(D) subscriptions and the sale of television sets
(E) advertising, subscriptions, and the sale of television sets 
 
 4 
   “successfully borrowed from the radio industry the paradigm of advertiser-funded programming.”   
 
 4. Select the sentence that provides factual evidence that Sarnoff’s talents were more imitative than innovative.

5  
 5. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

Indicate all that apply.

A. The advertising-funded model of television has damaged programming content.
B. The contributions of television’s technical inventor were overshadowed by the actions of those who popularized the medium.
C. There is no way to definitively prove who invented the first television.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

The answer to a primary purpose question should incorporate elements of the entire passage. Avoid answer choices that address limited sections of the passage. The Point: Sarnoff was responsible for introducing The primary purpose of the passage is to correct public misconception about Farnsworth’s role in developing early television programs debate the influence of television on popular culture challenge the current public perception of Vladimir Zworykin chronicle the events that led from the development of radio to the invention of the television describe and debate Sarnoff ’s influence on the public perception of television’s inception television to the public and establishing a dominant paradigm. This is foreshadowed when Sarnoff is called “the father of television.”

A)  Farnsworth’s influence on the development of the television itself is only mentioned in the first paragraph; Farnsworth’s role in developing programs is never mentioned.

B)  The impact of television is not discussed until the second paragraph. Although this paragraph debates whether or not Sarnoff’s influence was a positive one, it does not address the influence of television on popular culture.

C)  Vladimir Zworykin is only mentioned briefly in the first paragraph, so he is clearly not the primary subject of the passage. Furthermore, even though the passage mentions the initial public perception, it says nothing about the current public perception of Zworykin.

D)  The passage discusses events that occurred after the invention; there is no mention of the events that led up to the invention of the television.

E) CORRECT.   This answer includes the main elements of both paragraphs; it functions as a good summary of the entire passage.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph of the passage that

The second paragraph states that some critics viewed Sarnoff’s approach negatively and others thought his approach embodied a democratic concept. The correct answer must follow from at least one of those statements. 
 
 A)  You have been given no information about the television programs Sarnoff and Zworykin produced; in fact, you have not been told that they produced television shows. The paragraph is about the advertising revenue construct Sarnoff implemented, not about the television shows he produced.

B)  It is implied that ratings for educational programs are, in general, not strong, but that does not mean that any one particular educational program cannot have higher ratings than one particular sports program. Beware of answer choices that contain absolutes such as cannot.

C) CORRECT.   You are told that “some critics argue that Sarnoff’s paradigm has damaged programming content.” Since the word is some, it must be true that others feel it has played

D)  either a positive role or a neutral role. A group of these critics is mentioned in the last sentence of the paragraph. The passage does not differentiate programming based on what time television shows air, nor does it mention profitability.

E)  The word “should” implies a moral judgment, and the answer is therefore out of the scope of the passage. The second paragraph does not indicate a belief as to who should influence programming choices.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. According to the passage, the television industry earned revenue from

In an attempt to trick you on a Specific question such as this, the GRE will offer incomplete answers that incorporate language from throughout the passage but do not directly bear on the question at hand. Two sections in the passage discuss ways in which the television industry brought in revenue. The first paragraph mentions “advertiser-funded programming.” The second paragraph states that Sarnoff borrowed from other business models by “replacing the revenue from subscriptions and newsstand purchases with that of television set sales.”

A)    This answer choice does not account for the revenue generated from selling television sets.

B)   CORRECT.    Advertising and the sale of television sets are the two ways mentioned through which the industry could generate revenue.

C)    Subscriptions are mentioned as a method for newspapers to earn revenue; the last paragraph clearly states that television replaced this revenue with that earned by selling the sets themselves.

D)    This choice does not mention advertising revenue; moreover, it incorrectly mentions subscription revenue.

E)  This answer choice incorrectly mentions subscription revenue.  
 
  Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

4. Select the sentence that provides factual evidence that Sarnoff’s talents were more imitative than innovative.

This is a Select-in-Passage question relating to Sarnoff’s legacy as an imitator versus his legacy as an innovator. There are two plausible candidates. First, the second-to-last sentence of the first paragraph says that Sarnoff  “successfully borrowed from the radio industry the paradigm of advertiser-funded programming.”  This sentence states a fact indicating that Sarnoff took a business model from another medium, which would be imitative rather than innovative.

The second possible answer is the first sentence of the second paragraph, which says: “Perhaps Sarnoff simply adapted his business ideas from other industries such as newspapers.” However, the use of the word   perhaps means that this is an idea of the author’s, rather than a statement   of fact. For this reason, this cannot be the answer.

The correct answer is the second-to-last sentence of the first paragraph.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

5. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

Expect to need extra time on Select-One-or-More questions. This one, annoyingly, does not provide any clues about where to look in the passage. Use the key words in each statement to determine where to examine the passage.

A.  While the last sentence says that some critics “argue that Sarnoff’s construct has damaged programming content,” this is not stated as a fact, only a possible opinion. Always be careful to differentiate between opinions and facts on RC passages

B. CORRECT.   The first paragraph indicates that Farnsworth was the technical inventor of television. That paragraph also says that “Farnsworth’s contributions have gone relatively unnoticed, since it was Sarnoff who put televisions into living rooms.”

C.  Though the passage describes the ways in which both Zworykin and Farnsworth have been described as the progenitors of television, and though it makes a case that there remains a lively debate over who deserves the credit, this does not mean that there is  “no way”  of determining who invented the first television. Always be wary of extreme language like this when dealing with RC questions.

Answer: B

In the early years of television, Vladimir Zworykin was considered the

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