Question

analyzing and evaluating arguments
pre-test complete
1
read the excerpt from \the role of social media in
the arab uprisings\ by heather brown, emily guskin,
and amy mitchell.
passing along information is an important part of the
news process. earlier project for excellence in
journalism research finds the role of twitter in
disseminating breaking news is not limited to the arab
uprisings—the death of whitney houston, for example,
was announced on twitter 55 minutes prior to the
associated press confirming the story.
twitter, facebook and other new media offer ways for
the arab-american news media to reach audiences,
but also pose a threat to smaller outlets. in addition to
keeping up with the online presence of larger news
organizations, arab-american media are forced to
compete with user-generated content that is rapidly
available to audiences. the utility of social media in
accessing information became clear during the arab
uprisings and events such as egypt’s parliamentary
and presidential elections. however, suzanne
manneh of new america media points out that the
credibility of this information is difficult to verify
\depending on where it’s from, to whom it’s attributed,
and especially when various events are happening
very quickly.\
what reasons do the authors give to support the claim
that social media both helps and threatens smaller
media outlets? select two options.
□ small news outlets experience challenges when
trying to compete with larger news outlets.
□ information is sometimes shared on social media
before it is released by traditional media.
□ both small and large news organizations also
depend on user - generated content.
□ both social media and traditional news organizations
cover egypt’s presidential elections.
□ news organizations must compete with one another
and with social media to reach audiences.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. Option 1: Talks about small outlets competing with larger ones, not about social media's help/threat. Eliminate.
2. Option 2: Shows social media helps by sharing info before traditional media (help) and since small outlets need to compete with this, it's a threat. Relevant.
3. Option 3: Says both small and large depend on user - generated content. Small outlets have to compete with user - generated content (threat) and social media offers a way to reach audiences (help). Relevant.
4. Option 4: Just about covering elections, not about help/threat to small outlets. Eliminate.
5. Option 5: Talks about competition in general, not specific to small media outlets' relation with social media. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. Information is sometimes shared on social media before it is released by traditional media.
C. Both small and large news organizations also depend on user - generated content.