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Difficulty: HardBridging Gap (Supporter) Assumptions

Sociologist: A functioning democracy requires its electorate to have access to impartial political reporting. Over the last decade, however, the media landscape has been entirely consolidated by three massive entertainment conglomerates. Because these conglomerates are legally bound to prioritize maximizing their quarterly profits above all other objectives, the fundamental prerequisites for a functioning democracy are presently being undermined.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the sociologist's argument depends?

  1. Prioritizing the maximization of quarterly profits above all other objectives is incompatible with providing impartial political reporting.Answer
  2. B
    A media landscape consolidated by a small number of entertainment conglomerates cannot provide the diversity of political opinions necessary for a functioning democracy.
  3. C
    If a functioning democracy is being undermined, it is because the electorate has been deprived of impartial political reporting by corporate interests.
  4. D
    Entertainment conglomerates typically achieve the maximization of quarterly profits by producing sensationalized content rather than substantive political reporting.
  5. E
    Any media organization that is not legally bound to prioritize quarterly profits will provide its audience with impartial political reporting.

Answer

The assumption that prioritizing the maximization of quarterly profits above all other objectives is incompatible with providing impartial political reporting.
This statement perfectly bridges the gap in the author's reasoning. The author concludes that the prerequisite for democracy (impartial reporting) is undermined because media conglomerates prioritize quarterly profits above all else. For this conclusion to be valid, there must be a fundamental conflict between prioritizing profits and providing impartial reporting. If we apply the Negation Test and assume that maximizing profits is NOT incompatible with providing impartial political reporting, the entire argument collapses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion is that the fundamental prerequisites for a functioning democracy are presently being undermined.
Locating the main conclusion is essential for determining what the premises are attempting to prove.
2
Identify the premises and the fundamental prerequisite mentioned.
The prerequisite is 'access to impartial political reporting.' The active premises are that media is controlled by conglomerates, and these conglomerates prioritize maximizing quarterly profits above all other objectives.
Isolating the premises reveals the evidence the author uses to reach the conclusion.
3
Find the logical gap between the premises and the conclusion.
The argument jumps from 'prioritizing quarterly profits' to 'the prerequisite (impartial reporting) is undermined.' There is no stated connection between profit prioritization and a lack of impartial reporting.
A supporter assumption must explicitly connect the rogue elements in the premises to the rogue elements in the conclusion.
4
Formulate the necessary bridging assumption.
The argument requires the assumption that prioritizing profits prevents or is incompatible with providing impartial political reporting.
Applying the Negation Test confirms this: if maximizing profits were perfectly compatible with impartial reporting, the conclusion would no longer follow.

Key Concept

Bridging Gap (Supporter) Assumptions
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Bridging Gap (Supporter) Assumptions

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