#18 - Marcus: For most ethical dilemmas the journalist is

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (C)

Marcus argues that traditional journalistic ethics is adequate for most ethical dilemmas the journalist is likely to face. Anita agrees that traditional journalistic ethics can be adequate in some situations, but suggests that it is inadequate in the typical case, where a journalist is deciding whether some information is newsworthy.

Answer choice (A): Anita does not suggest that Marcus is wrong in saying that traditional journalistic ethics is clear. She merely argues that Marcus is wrong in suggesting that traditional journalistic ethics is adequate in a typical situation for a journalist.

Answer choice (B): Anita also does not suggest that Marcus is wrong in saying that traditional journalistic ethics is correct. She merely argues that Marcus is wrong in suggesting that traditional journalistic ethics is adequate in a typical situation for a journalist.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Anita argues that traditional journalistic ethics is inadequate for the typical ethic dilemma that a journalist faces.

Answer choice (D): Anita does not argue that in the common situations in which a journalist must make a decision, no principle of journalistic ethics can be of help. She merely argues that the traditional journalistic ethics, which Marcus defends, is adequate.

Answer choice (E): Anita does not argue that the traditional journalistic ethics amounts to no more than an unnecessarily convoluted description of the journalist’s job. She merely suggests that it is inadequate to help the journalist in a typical ethic dilemma.

[GLMDYP]

Hi!
For this question, I think (B) is also a good choice. Anita gave out a "typical case" and it really proved Marcus was not right.
Thanks!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi GLMDYP,

Thanks for your question! There is a fine line between (B) and (C). Yes, Anita presented a "typical case" in which the guidance cited by Marcus proves inadequate. However, the "correctness" of traditional journalistic ethics was never under debate. The issue is how applicable the guidelines are to most ethical dilemmas in journalism, not how "correct" they are: Marcus believes that they apply to a "typical case," whereas Anita believes they do not.

Does this help? Let me know.

Thanks!

[GLMDYP]

That cleared my mind! Thanks!

[mab9178]

Hi

I understand that A takes issue with M's characterization of "adequacy." My question concerns how the phrases "typical case" and "most" relate?

A case is said to be "typical" when it appears "most" or "majority" or "more than 50%" of the times; correct?

I feel that the LSAT writers would agree with that "typical" and "most" would be synonymous in this context, but, in answer-choices A and B, attached the quantifier "most" to the wrong element, i.e. the element with which A does not take issue such as "correctness." Am I correct?

Thank you
Mazen

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Mazen, I wouldn't necessarily say that "typical" has to be a majority. It could be a plurality, or a different frequency altogether. For example, pizza is a typical meal for children wouldn't mean that children eat pizza more than half the time. It just means that it is the type of thing we could expect children to eat. Similarly here, if an example is a typical situation for a journalist, we don't need to assume it happens more than half the time. It's just the sort of situation that we would expect a journalist to encounter.

Hope that helps!

[mab9178]

Thank you. Rachael!