The printed word, the radio and the television used to be the only sou

Question

The printed word, the radio and the television used to be the only sources of information available to a mass audience. Journalists and radio and television presenters were household names. They decided what we saw and heard and their opinions carried great authority. But people no longer passively consume media content. And they are beginning to value their own opinion and offer it alongside that of the supposed experts and authorities. They post online ratings for the restaurants they visit, they share their homemade podcasts and videologs, they contribute entries to collaborative sites offering advice or answers to questions posed on every imaginable subject. They are quickly realizing that the experts and authorities have feet of clay and that all too often a rank amateur offers a more profound contribution to the debate. It is the beginning of an expressive revolution that has only recently become possible and will embrace most people in the future.

Not every review or entry on the internet is correct and sure, some are bizarre. But the same has always been true of the content of our daily newspapers or favorite radio programs. Audiences are receptive to many more versions of truth and are becoming adept editors, deciding for themselves what is worthwhile and credible. The revolution is creating considerable pessimism among the employees of the traditional media corporations as they realize the extent to which the business model they have become accustomed to is threatened. They can barely believe that users might put as much, or more onto the network as they download.They had seen the internet as simply another outlet for their products. How wrong they turned out to be.    1 
 Q1. Which of the following statements best expresses the key point made in the passage?

A. The ongoing media revolution means that to succeed, a media company must let consumers share and configure content.
B. The newspaper, radio and television journalists and presenters did not deserve the unquestioning trust that we used to place in them.
C. The era of mass media is giving way to one of personal and participatory media.
D. The media moguls of yesterday failed to understand what the internet meant for their business.
E. The internet is liberating audiences from the authoritarian constraints previously imposed by the media moguls.

2 
 Q2. Which of the following statements would the author of the passage most likely agree with?

A. People like the certainty provided by a figure from above telling them what’s important.
B. People are learning to prefer a conversation to a sermon.
C. People will become less aware of differing arguments as they become heavier internet users.
D. The new media will erode our grammar, our attention spans and dumb down our cognitive abilities.
E. Sales of the printed word may be flat or decreasing but there will always be
room in our lives for books.

3 
 Q3. Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the case made in the passage?

A. Future successful media business models will be based on user-created content.
B. The future of all successful media business models will be based on a mix of professional and user-generated content.
C. The most successful media company of the future will not produce what, traditionally, media companies have always produced, namely, content.
D. At some point in the future people may well decide they have had enough of the new media and return to outlets that allow them to listen or watch passively.
E. The most successful media company of the future will produce what, traditionally, media companies have always produced, namely, content.

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 63 Date: 11-Feb-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

Source: How to pass the GMAT

ShishirKr · Answer

Can someone please provide official explanation of second question ?

Carcass · Answer

The only phrase that led me to the solution B is the following

They are quickly realizing that the experts and authorities have feet of clay and that all too often a rank amateur offers a more profound contribution to the debate

And after all, I used POE

However, after reading several times the passage above, I still hard find to figure out the idea. It seems something extrapolated from nowhere, put there, and throw out at it five answer choices that are meaningless.

This passage is surely something that will not help you on the GMAT

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

Q3. Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the case made in the passage?

Explanation

A future where success continued to come from content created by media corporations would most weaken the case made in the passage.

Answer: E

shreya2512 · Answer

why isn't d the answer for q3? if people started to prefer passively consuming media, wouldn't that weaken the author's argument?

anujleo · Answer

D isnt the answer of question3 because its not weakening the case for that matter.. Option D claims people changed to traditional style at some point of time this doesnt weakens that MOdern style is running high in trend currently. optionD links nowhere to current trend its talking about future while CASE is talking about current trend.. while Option E clearly depicts Top "successful" company pursuing traditional style which draws the inference that modern style is not eligible in market in scenario.. which successfully weakened the CASE represented

manish8242 · Answer

Why the answer to 1 can't be E? The passage does say that traditional media was greatly authorative and controlled greatly what we saw. And then when on to explain the progression of internet. so why cant be this the correct answer.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

Q1. Which of the following statements best expresses the key point made in the passage?

Explanation

The passage emphasizes the shift from traditional, authoritative media sources (print, radio, television) to a new era where individuals actively create, share, and evaluate content themselves. It highlights how people are no longer passive consumers but are now contributors who value their own opinions and those of other amateurs alongside or even above traditional experts. This is described as an  "expressive revolution"  that is participatory and inclusive.  Options A, B, D,  and  E  touch on aspects of this change, but they do not capture the overarching theme of the transition from mass media to personal and participatory media.

Option C  best expresses the key point because it summarizes the fundamental shift: the era where a few controlled media (mass media) is being replaced by an era where individuals participate actively (personal and participatory media).

Option E  is a very attractive and partially correct answer, but it is not the best answer for the key point. It focuses on the  "Liberation"  rather than the  "Participation"  and also it does not capture the full scope of the passage.

Answer: C

kartickdey · Answer

why isn't D the answer for Q3?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Q3. Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the case made in the passage?

Explanation

The passage’s main argument is that traditional top-down media (where professionals decide content) is being undermined by an  “expressive revolution”  in which ordinary users create, share, and rate content, challenging the authority of traditional experts and media corporations. It says traditional media companies wrongly thought the internet was just another distribution channel for their products, but users now contribute as much or more than they download, threatening the old business model.

We want a statement that weakens this case, meaning it would  lessen the threat to traditional media  or undermine the idea that the  “expressive revolution”  will dominate.

Option A:  Strengthens, not weakens; it says future models will be based on user content, which is exactly what the passage predicts.

Option B:  Says future models will be a mix of professional and user content. This slightly moderates the passage’s claim of radical change, but still accepts user content as core, so it doesn’t really weaken much; it’s almost in line with passage thinking (though less extreme).

Option C:  It means that the most successful media company will not produce content. This is irrelevant to the point about user vs. professional authority, the company might be a platform for user content, which still weakens traditional media producers’ role, so this could actually align with the revolution idea, not weaken it.

Option D:  It Suggests that people may tire of new media and return to passive consumption (traditional media model). This directly challenges the idea that the expressive revolution will keep growing and dominate, if true, it weakens the passage’s case that traditional media’s business model is permanently threatened. Let's keep it for the time.

Option E  Says the most successful media company of the future will produce content (like traditional media always did). This  directly contradicts  the revolutionary shift toward user supremacy and supports the idea that professional content creation remains central, strongest weakening statement here because it suggests the old model (professional-produced content) will still be the key to success.

Now, Between D and E:

D  is about consumer preference possibly reversing, but it’s speculative (“may well decide”) and not about the business model’s success directly.

One the other hand  E  is stronger: it says the most successful media company will still be doing what traditional media always did (producing content), implying professionals retain the central role, directly opposing the passage’s view that user content undermines them.

The best choice among these two is  E , because it most directly counters the core claim that the authority of professionals is being displaced and that traditional content production is threatened.

Answer: E

The printed word, the radio and the television used to be the only sou

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The printed word, the radio and the television used to be the only sou

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