Question

Read an excerpt from "Television and the Public Interest" and answer the question. The speech was delivered by Newton N. Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to the nation’s television executives in 1961.

[1] … But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.

[2] You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials—many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it.

[3] Is there one person in this room who claims that broadcasting can't do better? Well a glance at next season's proposed programming can give us little heart. Of 73 and 1/2 hours of prime evening time, the networks have tentatively scheduled 59 hours of categories of action-adventure, situation comedy, variety, quiz, and movies. Is there one network president in this room who claims he can't do better?

[4] The best estimates indicate that during the hours of 5 to 6 P.M. sixty percent of your audience is composed of children under twelve. And most young children today, believe it or not, spend as much time watching television as they do in the schoolroom. I repeat—let that sink in, ladies and gentlemen—most young children today spend as much time watching television as they do in the schoolroom. It used to be said that there were three great influences on a child: home, school, and church. Today, there is a fourth great influence, and you ladies and gentlemen in this room control it.

[5] If parents, teachers, and ministers conducted their responsibilities by following the ratings, children would have a steady diet of ice cream, school holidays, and no Sunday school. What about your responsibilities? Is there no room on television to teach, to inform, to uplift, to stretch, to enlarge the capacities of our children? Is there no room for programs deepening their understanding of children in other lands? There are some fine children's shows, but they are drowned out in the massive doses of cartoons, violence, and more violence. Must these be your trademarks? Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day …

[6] You must provide a wider range of choices, more diversity, more alternatives. It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs. And I would add this: that if some of you persist in a relentless search for the highest rating and the lowest common denominator, you may very well lose your audience. Because … the people are wise, wiser than some of the broadcasters—and politicians—think.

Select the two sentences that support the argument that television should not merely entertain audiences.

"And endlessly, commercials—many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom." (paragraph 2)

"Today, there is a fourth great influence, and you ladies and gentlemen in this room control it." (paragraph 4)

"Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day …" (paragraph 5)

"It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs." (paragraph 6)

"Because … the people are wise, wiser than some of the broadcasters—and politicians—think." (paragraph 6)

Answer 1

Answer: C) "Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day …" (paragraph 5) and D) "It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs." (paragraph 6).

Explanation: In the given excerpt from "Television and the Public Interest" we can see the description of several negative aspects of watching television, especially in young audience. The two sentences that best support the argument that television should not merely entertain audiences are "Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day" because it refers to the young audience watching hours of television full of violence and empty content and It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs, which directly says that it is not enough just to entertain.

Answer 2

Answer: The two sentences that support the argument that television should not merely entertain audiences are "Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day …" (paragraph 5)  and "It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs." (paragraph 6).

Explanation: In his speech "Television and the Public Interest", Minow describes American television as "vast wasteland" and urges television programmers to bear in mind that they are responsible for the audience's well-being. In that way, he claims that television should not only entertain the public but also respect the public and educate them about the responsibilities they have as citizens. Both sentences ("Search your consciences and see if you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guide so many hours each and every day …" and "It is not enough to cater to the nation's whims; you must also serve the nation's needs") encompass Minow's idea that entertainment is not the only aim that television should pursue.