Newspapers Reading Answers

Oct 9, 2025

The Newspapers Reading Answers consist of 13 questions and are part of the assessment framework for the IELTS General Reading test. Candidates must complete the Newspapers Reading Answers within a timeframe of 20 minutes. This section of the IELTS reading includes question types like: Do the following statements match the information provided in the Reading Passage? and Write no more than THREE WORDS for each answer.

Newspapers Reading Answers provides a detailed overview of newspapers that deliver national, international, and local news, as well as features, opinions, and advertisements. Due to the growth of digital media, traditional print newspapers have experienced significant decreases in sales, readership, and advertising income. For practice with similar reading tests, candidates can check the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Topic:

Newspapers are classically published daily or weekly. News magazines are also weekly, but they have a magazine format. General-interest newspapers typically publish news articles and feature articles on national and international news as well as local news. The news comprises political events and personalities, business and finance, crime, weather, and natural disasters; health and medicine, science, and computers and technology; sports; and entertainment, society, food and cooking, clothing and home fashion, and the arts.

Typically, the paper is alienated into segments for each of those major groupings (labelled A, B, C, and so on, with pagination prefixes for each page numbers A1–A20, B1–B20, C1–C20, and so on). Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page covering editorials written by an editor (or by the paper’s editorial board) and stating an opinion on a public issue, opinion articles called “op-eds” written by guest writers (which are typically in the same section as the editorial), and columns that express the personal opinions of columnists, usually offering analysis and synthesis that tries to contextualise the raw data of the news into information telling the reader “what it all means” and persuading them to concur. Papers also comprise articles which have no by-line; these articles are written by staff writers.

A diverse variety of material has been published in newspapers. Besides the above-mentioned news, information and opinions, they comprise weather forecasts; criticism and analyses of the arts (including literature, film, television, theatre, fine arts, and architecture) and other services such as restaurants; obituaries, birth notices and graduation announcements; entertainment features such as crosswords, horoscopes, editorial cartoons, gag cartoons, and comic strips; advice columns, food, and other columns; and radio and television listings (program schedules). As of 2017, newspapers may also offer information about new movies and TV shows available on streaming services such as Netflix. Newspapers have classified ad sections where people and businesses can buy small advertisements to sell goods or services; as of 2013, an enormous upsurge in Internet websites for selling goods, such as Craigslist and eBay have led to pointedly less classified sales for newspapers.

Most newspapers are businesses, and they pay their expenditures with a combination of subscription revenue, newsstand sales, and advertising income (other businesses or individuals pay to place advertisements in the papers, including display ads, classified ads, and their online equivalents). Some newspapers are government-run or at least government-funded; their dependence on advertising revenue and on profitability is less critical to their existence. The editorial independence of a newspaper is always subject to the interests of someone, whether owners, advertisers, or a government. Some newspapers with high editorial independence, high journalism quality, and large circulation are viewed as newspapers of record.

Many newspapers, besides employing journalists on their own payrolls, also contribute to news agencies (wire services), which service journalists to find, accumulate, and report the news, then sell the copy to newspapers. This is a way for papers to share their coverage of reporting from around the world. According to Circa 2005 figures, the number of newspaper titles in the world was 6,580 daily newspaper titles selling 395 million copies a day (in the U.S., 1,450 titles selling 55 million copies). In the mid-2000s to early 2010s global decline of newspapers because of free web-based alternatives, has aided source a waning of advertising revenue and circulation, and there was an absolute drop in the fatalities. Global annual revenue topped $100 billion in 2005–7, then jumped during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008–9. Profits in 2016 fell to only $53 billion, aching every major publisher as free access online income well far short of the goal.

The waning in advertising revenues affected both the print advertising revenue as well as all other means: print advertising revenue has greatly weakened, and the prices of online advertising have fallen to nearly one-sixth of print advertising rates. Besides more regarding advertising, the internet (especially the web) has also defied the business models of the newspaper industry becoming both publishing and advertising (sharing information with others) and, more precisely, publishers of news, blogs, and reporting. The growth of news aggregators, which bundle related content from many online newspapers, effects the drift of web traffic.

Growing paid walling of online newspapers has arisen among those effects. The eldest newspaper still published is the Ordinari Post Tijdender, which was established in Stockholm in 1645.

Questions 28-35

Write no more than THREE WORDS for each.

28. Weekly newspapers have a ………………. Format.

Answer: magazine

Supporting statement: “News magazines are also weekly, but they have a magazine format.”

Keywords: weekly, news magazines, magazine format

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, Line 1–2

Explanation: The passage states that while newspapers are published daily or weekly, news magazines (which are weekly) are printed in a magazine format.

29. Perspectives written by an editor can be found on the ………………. Page.

Answer: editorial

Supporting statement: “Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page covering editorials written by an editor…”

Keywords: editorials, written by an editor, page

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Line 4–5

Explanation: The passage explains that the editorial page is where the editor’s opinions on public issues are presented.

30. Articles that have no by-lines are written by …………………..

Answer: staff writers

Supporting statement: “Papers also comprise articles which have no by-line; these articles are written by staff writers.”

Keywords: no by-line, written by staff writers

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Last line

Explanation: Articles without by-lines, meaning no author names, are created by staff writers of the newspaper.

31. Newspapers have classified ad sections where businesses can purchase ……………………

Answer: small advertisements

Supporting statement: “Newspapers have classified ad sections where people and businesses can buy small advertisements…”

Keywords: classified ad sections, businesses, buy small advertisements

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Line 12–13

Explanation: The passage states that newspapers include sections for classified ads, where small advertisements are sold.

32. Some newspapers are ……………. And their dependence on advertising revenue and on profitability is less critical to their existence.

Answer: government-funded

Supporting statement: “Some newspapers are government-run or at least government-funded; their dependence on advertising revenue and on profitability is less critical…”

Keywords: government-run, government-funded, profitability

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 3–4

Explanation: Certain newspapers receive government funding, which reduces their reliance on advertisements for survival.

33. News agencies accumulate content and then ……………….. to newspapers.

Answer: sell the copy

Supporting statement: “...which service journalists to find, accumulate, and report the news, then sell the copy to newspapers.”

Keywords: news agencies, accumulate, sell the copy

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 3–4

Explanation: News agencies gather and prepare content which they later sell to newspapers.

34. In 2005, there were ……………………. newspapers titles being sold in the US.

Answer: 1,450

Supporting statement: “...in the U.S., 1,450 titles selling 55 million copies.”

Keywords: 2005, U.S., titles, 1,450

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 6

Explanation: The text specifies that the U.S. had 1,450 daily newspaper titles in 2005.

35. In 2016, the worldwide revenue from newspapers ………………. to $53 billion.

Answer: fell

Supporting statement: “Profits in 2016 fell to only $53 billion…”

Keywords: 2016, profits, fell

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 8

Explanation: The passage clearly indicates a decline in newspaper revenue, with profits falling to $53 billion in 2016.

Questions 36-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

TRUE - If the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - If the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - If there is no information on this

36. A limited amount of material is published in newspapers.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “A diverse variety of material has been published in newspapers.”

Keywords: diverse variety, published, newspapers

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Line 1

Explanation: The statement contradicts the passage, which highlights that newspapers cover a wide range of topics and materials, not a limited amount.

37. India sells less newspapers than Britain.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Supporting statement: “...in the U.S., 1,450 titles selling 55 million copies.”

Keywords: India, Britain, newspaper sales

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 6

Explanation: The text gives data for the U.S. but provides no comparison between India and Britain.

38. Some newspapers are controlled by the governments.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Some newspapers are government-run or at least government-funded…”

Keywords: government-run, government-funded

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 3

Explanation: The passage confirms that certain newspapers are managed or funded by governments, meaning they are under government control.

39. The editorial independence of a newspaper is an issue of interest to the owner of the newspaper or the government.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “The editorial independence of a newspaper is always subject to the interests of someone, whether owners, advertisers, or a government.”

Keywords: editorial independence, owners, government

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 4–5

Explanation: The independence of newspapers is influenced by stakeholders like owners, advertisers, and governments.

40. In the recession of 2008-9, the revenue of newspapers from around the globe declined.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Global annual revenue topped $100 billion in 2005–7, then jumped during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008–9.”

Keywords: 2008–9, financial crisis, jumped

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 8

Explanation: Contrary to the statement, revenue did not decline but increased during the 2008–9 financial crisis, as stated in the passage.

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