When views can freely flourish in the marketplace of ideas, individuals are afforded the advantage of deciding what notions and concepts to question, support or reject. On June 8, 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of Representatives an amendment to the Constitution: “The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.” This commitment to a free press is a principle Americans hold firmly, because they view it as a necessary ingredient for a properly functioning political process and a critical component of a free society. Yet, since the time of America’s founding, the politicized nature of the press has not fundamentally changed. While conservatives and liberals alike claim that today’s mainstream media is biased, opinionated, and devoid of objectivity and balanced analysis, American newspapers at the time of this nation’s birth were all partisan, believing that their responsibility was not to report news, but to convey, without apology, a particular political position. Perhaps the high point of partisan newspapers was in New York during the 1920’s, when the city had over a dozen daily papers, each geared toward a particular ethnic and political niche; people selected the paper that made the most sense of the world to them. Despite the naysayers who warn that the lack of objectivity and fair-mindedness is corrosive to society, partisan journalism can be good journalism. It produces plenty of excellent reporting and analysis and is the norm in many nations. Two centuries ago, newspapers subsidized by Andrew Jackson's Democrats and Henry Clay's Whigs were dependable supporters of their parties. Today’s newspapers claim that they too are only giving their readership what it wants. Legally, the Supreme Court has tried since 1919 to clarify how free the press is. Over time, older laws that allowed publications to be punished for libel, obscenity, sedition, and publishing inflammatory material have given way to more expansive rights to publish. The First Amendment protections offered to journalists have evolved to a broader interpretation of freedom of the press. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, journalists exposed the government’s mismanagement of the Vietnam War, and their investigative reporting eventually brought about the resignation of President Nixon. By the end of the twentieth century, the Constitution’s protections were broadly held to cover the content of all papers, from the highly regarded New York Times to tabloids such as The National Enquirer. 1 According to the author, which of the following is true about partisan journalism throughout American history? A. It has had a limited impact on the political process. B. Its lack of objectivity is detrimental. C. It has played an important role in reliably informing individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. D. It is what all members of society want from their news sources. E. It has essentially been the status quo since America’s founding. 2 Which of the following statements about American newspapers is supported by information contained in the passage? A. America’s newspapers in 1789 resembled those of today in form and content. B. The character of the press has matured since the time of America’s founding. C. In recent years, the press has become biased in regard to its political reporting. D. Early American journalists did not necessarily provide a balanced analysis of events. E. American newspapers of the past reported more reliably their political affiliations. 3 The author of the passage would disagree with which of the following statements? A. The legal understanding of press freedoms has shifted over time. B. Over time, the First Amendment protections offered to the press have become absolute. C. America’s legal evolution has given way to a more liberal understanding of press freedom. D. First Amendment press rights today protect a broad section of the newspaper industry. E. Freedoms offered to the press have helped shape events in history. 4 All of the following are examples of limitations the courts have placed on freedom of the press, EXCEPT A. articles deemed maliciously defamatory of individuals B. articles viewed as offensive to society’s views of decency C. articles that comment negatively on a political affiliation D. articles clearly dangerous to national security E. articles that contain language intended to incite rebellion Correct answer:1 Solution: This Specific question asks what is true about partisan journalism throughout American history. What is stated is that since its beginning, the press has not significantly changed. The passage additionally says that like newspapers today, newspapers at the time of America’s birth were all partisan, thereby making (E) the correct response. (A) is incorrect because the passage states that the commitment to a free press is a necessary ingredient for the political process to function properly. (B) is incorrect because the first paragraph does state that partisan journalism can be good journalism. (C) is incorrect because while partisan journalism has played an important role in informing individuals, we have no way of knowing whether it has done so reliably. (D) is incorrect because it is too extreme. The passage does not support the universal conclusion that absolutely everyone desires partisan journalism. Correct answer: 2 Solution: The opening paragraph states, “American newspapers at the time of this nation’s birth were all partisan, believing that their responsibility was not to report news, but to convey, without apology, a particular political position.” Therefore, one can conclude that early American journalists did not always present a balanced perspective, making (D) the correct response. (A) is incorrect because the passage does not compare the form of past newspapers with that of today’s papers. (B) is incorrect because it is in sharp contrast to what the fourth sentence of the first paragraph states. “Yet, since the time of America’s founding, the politicized nature of the press has not fundamentally changed.” (C) is incorrect because the press has always been politically biased; it is not a recent phenomenon. (E) is outside the scope of the passage. The passage says nothing about whether newspapers of the past reported more reliably their political affiliations than those of today. Correct answer: 3 Solution: In this question, four of the answer choices will contain statements that the author will agree with. The author would agree with answer choices (A) and (C) because of the statements in the following sentence: “Over time, older laws that allowed publications to be punished for libel, obscenity, sedition, and publishing inflammatory material have given way to more expansive rights to publish.” The author would agree with (D). “By the end of the twentieth century, the Constitution’s protections were broadly held to cover the content of all papers.” The author would also agree with (E). “During the 1960’s and 1970’s, journalists exposed the government’s mismanagement of the Vietnam War and their investigative reporting eventually brought about the resignation of President Nixon.” The author would not agree with answer choice (B). The passage states that courts have continuously reinterpreted what is meant by freedom of the press. Therefore, the author would not agree that First Amendment protections are absolute, making (B) the correct response. Correct answer: 4 This is a Specific question in which four of the answers will be found within the passage. The one that cannot be found from information in the passage is the answer to this EXCEPT question. (A), (B), (D) and (E) are contained in the passage. They are all paraphrases of the second sentence of the third paragraph, which says, “Over time, older laws that allowed publications to be punished for libel, obscenity, sedition, and publishing inflammatory material have given way to more expansive rights to publish.” The passage does say that the mainstream press has always been politically biased, making (C) the EXCEPTION and the correct answer.

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When views can freely flourish in the marketplace of ideas, individual

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sayan640

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28 Jun 2024, 17:40

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For difficult questions (location based) , you have to go back to the passage again. That's why I follow the second starategy. Read the first and the last para with full attention and skim the rest during first 4 minutes. KarishmaB GMATinsight

Sajjad1994

gmatapprentice

SajjadAhmad

I got this passage earlier on in a Veritas exam - it took me 8:13 to solve all three questions correctly which completely threw off my pace for the rest of the test. Since its a long passage with three questions - whats the correct strategy to approach it? I was going with 4mins for reading and 4 mins for solving. Thanks in advance.

Hello gmatapprentice

RC is toughest and very dry section to test on the GMAT, There is no secret formula to ace RC except to be master blaster reader and that is not possible without practice. This is a 700-Level passages, i don't know what the difficulty level were during your exam because question reveals difficulty level not the passage text or passage length. If the difficulty level of three questions were 700 then 7 minutes to that passage was OK and not alarming. 4 Minute for reading is also not alarming for long passages like this one, probably you have spent more time while attempting each question. After reading in 4 minutes your time per question should not have been more than a minute.

Different strategies works for different GMAT students i.e some feel comfortable reading with full attention and don,t go back to the passage on individual questions other just read first para with complete attention skim the rest of the passage and read the last para again with full attention. With this strategy they most of the time needed to go back to the passage and read again for some questions. I don't know your style of reading but keep one thing in mind that you should stick to your style of reading. If you reads all the text and didn't skim then you don't need to go back to passage to pick up the answer. If you go back reading again you will definitely waste much time.

Students with a V40+ didn't solve tough RC with 4 questions in less than 8 minutes always, what they do they Master all the sections and save a lot of time from SC to invest that time in CR and RC. without mastering each section you cannot save time. here is a thread in which i have complied all of the RC strategies by different expert, visit below link i hope it will help you in some way.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-read- ... 00886.html

Good Luck

NoeticImbecile

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10 Oct 2024, 08:24

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Hello experts!
in Q4, as per my understanding we may refer to P3 "Legally, the Supreme Court has tried since 1919 to clarify how free the press is. Over time, older laws that allowed publications to be punished for libel, obscenity, sedition, and publishing inflammatory material have given way to more expansive rights to publish." I believe this means courts have helped in emancipation of the press and gave them freedom to publish articles pertaining to libel, obscenity, sedition etc. Now, the question asks "All of the following are examples of limitations the courts have placed on freedom of the press, EXCEPT" which means the option should contain something which says that court has put fetters on the freedom of press, but in reality the courts have done otherwise. What am i missing?

mkeshri185

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Why does A is not correct here? It is said in the passage that condition of press has not been changed since it founding ?

Gladiator59

5 mins 29 secs... got 3 out of 4.

Q1 I felt was a bit challenging as Options C, D & E all come close ( as can be determined by timer statistics)

INFERENCE TYPE - need to ensure 100% support from the passage to the correct option choice
Q1 : According to the author, which of the following is true about partisan journalism throughout American history?

a) It has had a limited impact on the political process. Nah - not mentioned. In fact kind of opposite to the ideas conveyed in the passage
b) Its lack of objectivity is detrimental. Detrimental is too strong a word as author believes this partisan press thing is fine and has always existed
c) It has played an important role in reliably informing individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. TRAP word - "reliably" - even though it is correct that partisan press has informed diverse set of individuals we cannot ensure it has done so in a reliable manner. Hence it is a one word trap!
d) It is what all members of society want from their news sources.ALL MEMBERS - is too extreme
e) It has essentially been the status quo since America’s founding. BINGO - it has been same since the founding days of the country and this itself means the nature has been status quo

The other questions have excellent explanations in the OE provided in the spoiler part of the passage and hence I do not reproduce my own take on them here.

Best,
Gladi