Author Peter Overby writes on his investigation into Campaign Finance Institute reports. He finds that this cycle’s presidential candidates have raised 35% less funding than those of the 2008 election. He suggests that the cause of this drop may be related to more or less invisible factors, including the amount of money donated to superPACs and the true buying power of superPAC funds. Overby’s article is a political news article, and as such draws primarily on ethos. Overby does an excellent job of writing for his audience while employing several effective rhetorical strategies. The article utilizes a title that clearly states the issue being discussed and the author’s analysis of it – that there is more we can’t see. This helps internet …show more content…
He never defines a superPAC or explains who the candidates are. This is because he is writing for NPR, whose audience tends to be more informed on politics than readers of other news agencies. Reading basic definitions for things with which you are very familiar can be annoying and even offensive to readers. This is a very good move on Overby’s part. Hard numbers and statistics in combination with logical flow prove to be the foundation for the article’s ethos. Since the author is suggesting that something is happening that we can’t see, he has to use what we can see to get to that conclusion. He successfully does so by comparing numbers from reliable agencies and then going through the logical implications of how they changed. The article follows a logical flow that the reader can easily understand, thereby giving him a credible argument. The most important element in establishing Overby’s credibility is his neutrality. Throughout the article, he discusses both parties, but provides no apparent bias toward either. This is crucial to the political news genre, in which your credibility is based entirely on education and bias, but mostly
"most students are already rhetorically savvy but unaware of their critical processes..." Author Jane Fife puts the three rhetorical analysis pieces to work, ethos pathos and logos, in an attempt to teach rhetorical analysis in a classroom. Fife uses a collaboration of all three types of rhetorical analysis. While the author does make good use of the first two pieces of rhetorical analysis, Pathos, and Logos, Fife strays away from the use of Ethos in her article. Fife applies the rhetorical appeals of Pathos and Logos to teach rhetoric to her class and the reader. However, her use of examples in a classroom backed up with little evidence to prove her authority surrounding the subject causes her readers to doubt her claim that Facebook and
Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times, is very straightforward in his expression of his opinions in his writing. Kristof's awareness of his audience and his connection with them allows him to present his ideas and opinions in a way that is compelling and understandable. Kristof is sure to tie in every detail and end his arguments by addressing his audience specifically. Although Nicholas Kristof creates many effective arguments through his use of witness accounts and real-life situations, his over employment of pathos leads his audience to question his objectivity due to his emotional connection to his argument.
The audience is not convinced even slightly. This article is too long and has too many dry facts, many of which do not get explained well, and wobbly quotes. He makes it seem as if he is against the NSA’s abuse of power, yet he includes a stat that helps out the NSA’s cause which is confusing. He does not tell the audience what they should do with the new information nor does he include why he is writing it. The paper really suffered from a lack of pathos. There was no emotional pull at all in the article which was the reason for his ultimately boring and tiring paper.
(pg.292) “How dear, how soothing to man, arises the idea of God, peopling the lonely place, effacing the scars of our mistakes and disappointments! When we have broken our god of tradition and ceased from our god of rhetoric, then may God fire the heart with his presence.” There is a sharp contrast between a god of perception and the God of the universal over- soul. A god of perception is one defined by the senses or unstable, biased opinion and because of this is flawed like our senses. When analyzing Emerson’s “The Over- Soul” we must pay close attention to his rhetorical techniques because although we might not consciously see it, his rhetoric sways the audience reading his work in his favor. For example, in the preceding quote Emerson capitalization
First, there is nowhere in the article that cites where this information was collected or if the informat...
"Whether the issue is consumer privacy, a Patients' Bill of Rights, environmental pollution, or a prescription drug benefit for older Americans, soft money donors will get their opinions heard on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Soft money is drowning out the voices of average Americans -- it is time to put an end to the corrupt soft money system"
Since then, super PACs have started campaigns in support of particular agendas, most notably to back Republican presidential candidates. According to OpenSecrets.org, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore America has raised 12.2 million dollars this election cycle, and it released numerous advertisements in Iowa attacking Newt Gingrich. This week, the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future released a 28-minute documentary-style video called When Mitt Romney Came to Town that attacks Romney’s business career at Bain
Critics indicate that Super PACs have the influence to buy elections and override the average voter’s opinions in a participatory democracy. In the same context, they will also argue that the wealthy minority of donors to a Super PAC dictate over the views of the majority, which will eventually lead to corrupt politics and diminish democracy in the process. Many will argue in justification of Super PACs, asserting they are perfectly democratic under the Constitution’s First Amendment. An example of one of these arguments is made by a Joel M. Gora, a political professor at the Brooklyn Law School (Gora, 2013). Gora’s article is primarily a defense of Super PACs and of the First Amendment principles and imperatives they embody and reflect. In
Without a doubt, the United State Presidential Election has dominated the most recent news cycle. With stories such as Hillary Clinton's emails and Donald Trump's firebrand speech, it is easy to see why. The media storm has caused many high-profile billionaires to open their checkbooks to ensure the safety of their interests by investing in their favorite candidate. In contrast, Democratic billionaire George Soros has been pouring funds into the American justice system.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
This investigation will look at how different media sources can represent this issue in different ways. This topic had many differing opinions. It is also interesting as Q and A is also a media source so it is media reporting on the
This article was posted in June of 2006. The article has not revised since that date. This information is still current considering the length of years between 2006 and 2016. The information relates to my topic because it shows how there ...
This articles headline uses the bias of word choice which would also mean it is bias through the headline as well. The headline starts off as "U.S. Senate heads to vote". The reason why this is bias through word choice and headline is because you're persuaded to read it just because of how prominent the U.S. Senate is and the word choice also makes you think as if the U.S. Senate is heading to the vote to save the day. There is also bias through pictures in this article because there is a big picture of a bunch of protesters showing you how bad they think this plan is. It automatically makes you think that the pipeline is a horrible plan and that the U.S. Senate is definitely going to deny the bill. In this article I also found that it was bias through placement because the picture of the protestors was placed at the top of the article taking up almost the same size as half of the
Many critics argue that this absence of objectivity clouds Kotlowitz's ability to look at the subject in a neutral, journalistic fashion. They wonder how the author's deep personal commitment can be replicated into vast public sympathy for the projects (Edsall 36).