LSAT 108 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Sarah: Reporters, by allotting time to some events …

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: SARAH’S ARGUMENT: Reporters decide which events to cover, which is a part of exercising judgment. So reporters always interpret the news.

RAMON’S ARGUMENT: Reporters should never interpret the news. Once they decide a story is newsworthy, they should simply relay the facts.

ANALYSIS: Notice that Ramon accepts that reporters decide what’s newsworthy. He says “once they deem …”. So he doesn’t object to reporters exercising judgment in selecting stories. He just thinks that after making that choice, they shouldn’t interpret the facts.

The disagreement happens at “interpreting the news”. They’re disagreeing about whether choosing which events to report counts as interpreting the news.

Sarah says that by allotting time to some events over others, reporters always interpret the news.

Ramon says no. Reporters should never interpret the news, yet they still have to decide which stories to show. So Ramon must think selecting stories is compatible with not interpreting the news.

___________

1. Sarah agrees. Ramon says they should never interpret the news. That’s a statement about what should happen, not what actually does happen. Maybe he thinks reporters currently do interpret the news and shouldn’t. Maybe he thinks they don’t. We don’t know.
2. Both seem to accept that reporters make judgments about what’s newsworthy.
3. Neither discusses reporters’ primary responsibility.
4. Ramon clearly accepts that reporters choose some stories over others.
5. CORRECT. Sarah says yes, Ramon says no because he thinks reporters can decide what’s newsworthy and still avoid interpreting the news.