LSAT 121 – Section 1 – Question 08

LSAT 121 - Section 1 - Question 08

December 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT121 S1 Q08
+LR
Main conclusion or main point +MC
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
20%
161
B
1%
154
C
77%
164
D
2%
151
E
0%
148
127
144
161
 +Medium 145.604 +SubsectionMedium

Commentator: Most journalists describe their individual political orientations as liberal, and it is often concluded that there is therefore a liberal bias in current journalism. This is not the case, however, because newspapers, magazines, radio, and television are all in the business of selling news and advertising, and therefore face market pressures that tend to keep them impartial, since in order to maximize profits they must target the broadest customer base possible.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The commentator concludes that it is not true that there is a liberal bias in current journalism. To support this, the commentator claims that newspapers, magazines, radio, and television companies need to target a broad customer base because they depend on selling news and advertising. This need to appeal to a broad customer base is what keeps them impartial, according to the commentator, and since they face these market pressures to be impartial, there is not a liberal bias in the media.

Identify Conclusion
The commentator concludes that there is not a liberal bias in current journalism; despite what many believe, “this is not the case.”

A
The individual political orientations of journalists do not constitute acceptable evidence regarding media bias.
The argument does not address this claim. This answer discusses what constitutes acceptable evidence; the argument does not make a judgement on whether journalists’ views are acceptable evidence.
B
Major media face significant market pressures.
This is offered as support for the main conclusion. This is a premise.
C
Current journalism does not have a liberal political bias.
This is the main conclusion. The commentator’s argument is that other people are wrong when they claim that there is a liberal bias in the media. Answer C encapsulates this idea.
D
Major media must target the broadest customer base possible in order to maximize profits.
Similar to B, this acts as support for the main conclusion, so this is a premise.
E
It is often maintained that current journalism has a liberal bias.
This serves as context for the argument; this the idea that the commentator is arguing against.

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LSAT PrepTest 121 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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