Magazine editor: I know that some of our regular advertisers have been

Magazine editor: I know that some of our regular advertisers have been pressuring us to give favorable mention to their products in our articles, but they should realize that for us to yield to their wishes would actually be against their interests. To remain an effective advertising vehicle, we must have loyal readership, and we would soon lost that readership if our readers suspect that our editorial integrity has been compromised by pandering to advertisers.

Advertising-sales director: You underestimate the sophistication of our readers. They recognize that the advertisements we carry are not articles, so their response to the advertisements has never depended on their opinion of the editorial integrity of the magazine as a whole.

The magazine editor’s argument assumes which one of the following?


(A) A magazine editor should never be influenced in the performance of his or her professional duties by the wishes of the companies that regularly advertise in the magazine.

(B) The magazine cannot give any favorable mention in its articles to its regular advertisers without compromising its reputation for editorial integrity.

(C) Favorable mention of their products in the magazine’s articles is of less value to the advertisers than is the continued effectiveness of the magazine as an advertising vehicle.

(D) Giving favorable mention to a product in a magazine article is a more effective form of advertising than is an explicit advertisement for the product in the same magazine.

(E) Carrying paid advertisements can never pose any threat to the magazine’s reputation for editorial integrity nor to the loyalty of its readership.