The Printed Word, The Radio And The Television Used To Be The Only Sources Of Information GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage 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.

“The printed word, the radio and the television used to be the only sources of information”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

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

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

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

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

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

1. Future successful media business models will be based on user-created content.
2. The future of all successful media business models will be based on a mix of professional and user-generated content.
3. The most successful media company of the future will not produce what, traditionally, media companies have always produced, namely, content.
4. 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.
5. The most successful media company of the future will produce what, traditionally, media companies have always produced, namely, content.

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