In the early years of television, Vladimir Zworykin was considered the device's inventor, at least publicly. His loudest champion was his boss David Sarnoff, the president of RCA and the “father of television,” as he was and is widely regarded. Modern historians agree that Philo Farnsworth, a self-educated prodigy who was the first to transmit live images, was television's technical inventor. But Farnsworth's contributions have gone relatively unnoticed, since it was Sarnoff, not Farnsworth, who put televisions into living rooms and, even more important, who successfully borrowed from the radio industry the paradigm of advertiser-funded programming, a paradigm still dominant today. In contrast, Farnsworth lacked business savvy and was unable to realize his dream of television as an educational tool.
Perhaps Sarnoff simply adapted his business ideas from other industries such as newspapers, replacing the revenue from subscriptions and newsstand purchases with that of television set sales, but Sarnoff promoted himself as a visionary. Some critics argue that Sarnoff's construct has damaged programming content. Others contend that it merely created a democratic platform allowing audiences to choose the programming they desire.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) correct public misconception about Farnsworth's role in developing early television programs
(B) debate the influence of television on popular culture
(C) challenge the current public perception of Vladimir Zworykin
(D) chronicle the events that led from the development of radio to the invention of the television
(E) describe Sarnoff's influence on the public perception of television's inception, and debate the impact of Sarnoff's paradigm
It can be inferred from the second paragraph of the passage that
(A) television shows produced by David Sarnoff and Vladimir Zworykin tended to earn negative reviews
(B) educational programs cannot draw as large an audience as sports programs
(C) a number of critics feel that Sarnoff's initial decision to earn television revenue through advertising has had a positive or neutral impact on content
(D) educational programs that are aired in prime time, the hours during which the greatest number of viewers are watching television, are less likely to earn a profit than those that are aired during the daytime hours
(E) in matters of programming, the audience's preferences should be more influential than those of the advertisers
According to the passage, the television industry earned revenue from
(A) advertising only
(B) advertising and the sale of television sets
(C) advertising and subscriptions
(D) subscriptions and the sale of television sets
(E) advertising, subscriptions, and the sale of television sets
Select the sentence that provides factual evidence that Sarnoff's talents were more imitative than innovative.
His loudest champion was his boss David Sarnoff, the president of RCA and the “father of television,” as he was and is widely regarded. Modern historians agree that Philo Farnsworth, a self-educated prodigy who was the first to transmit live images, was television's technical inventor. But Farnsworth's contributions have gone relatively unnoticed, since it was Sarnoff, not Farnsworth, who put televisions into living rooms and, even more important, who successfully borrowed from the radio industry the paradigm of advertiser-funded programming, a paradigm still dominant today
Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
A) The advertising-funded model of television has damaged programming content.
B) The contributions of television's technical inventor were overshadowed by the actions of those who popularized the medium.
C) There is no way to definitively prove who invented the first television.
25 Oct 2017, 11:23
77% (01:57) correct
