https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/25/us/florida-school-shooting-first-responders/
Faith Karimi February 25, 2018 19 year old former student Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School wearing heavy armor and began shooting in the freshman building. Using an automatic weapon, he was able to shoot through windows, walls, and human flesh. The controversy however lies on why the student was not taken into questioning before and why the school officers waited outside for four minutes as the shooting went on.This massacre has made international headlines with audiences around the world wondering what happened and how the police response could have been better. This information came to light in the days following the shooting as those involved are being investigated. The author used informal diction and first-person testimonies from responders such as Coral Springs Police and officers to describe the events that took place in a vivid and concise manner. The informal diction was used to remain both realistic and as close to the sources’ speech patterns since they used informal diction in conversations and testimonies. There was bias in the author’s article against the confessed shooter by describing both him and his actions in negative terms. Author Karimi described the situation as a “massacre” and used quotes from officer Crawford that described the situation as “haunting”. While the author did not explicitly comment on the shooter to express her opinions, her choice of sources and information presented made her opinion clear. The article appealed to the reader’s ethos and pathos. For ethos, she used interviews and quotations from people that first-hand experienced the scene--many of which have respected positions among fellow police and first responders in the area. This establishes credibility for her article because you can assume that these people are well educated on the topic and are providing correct information. A few credible sources used in the article were Officer Chris Crawford of Coral Springs, a former Marine, and Kathy Liriano of the Coral Springs Police and Fire Communications. For Pathos they used vivid wording and descriptions of “officers covered in blood [of the victims] ”, students and staff lying dead in the hallway, and the fear of victims trapped in rooms. These descriptions can almost paint a picture for the reader who can almost imagine the school itself. The purpose of the article was to inform readers about the first responders to the school shooting and provide further information on the situation. The author had a very serious tone and expressed rather tearful emotions throughout the piece. Overall the author did a great job writing a compelling article while maintaining a professional tone on a “touchy” subject.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/01/politics/pompeo-russian-spies-meeting/index.html
Jim Sciutto and Nicole Gaouette, CNN February 1, 2018 Sciutto and Gaouette of CNN explain the current controversy regarding the CIA director Mike Pompeo and his meeting with sanctioned head of Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency. In a tweet released by the United States Russian Embassy, the Sergey Naryshkin had come to the United States for official government business. Pompeo and his agents supposedly followed a strict protocol for meeting with the Russian official, claiming that they had the safety of America in mind. Many officials however, are saying that by going directly against the 2016 sanctions Pompeo and his agents created a “serious national security issue”. This information coincidentally came to light amidst the backlash the Trump Administration is receiving for not imposing new sanctions against Russia earlier this week. This article was written for anyone who enjoys politics or is interested in the US and Russia’s odd relationship. The authors utilized informal diction through the use of words like “ target”, “barred”, and “destabilizing” to describe the events that take place. The informal diction was a rather effective way to explain the political controversy in terms that anyone would understand.After analyzing the article, I was able to determine that there was no apparent bias shown by the authors in either favor. However, the evidence and testimonies presented in the article --which were almost entirely against Pompeo-- show a more underlying prejudice against the CIA agent. Regardless, the authors maintained a professional tone throughout the article while being careful to leave out any personal emotions. Sciutto and Gaouette appealed to the reader’s Ethos and Pathos. For Starters, almost the entire article used quotes from politicians and involved members of both sides on both sides to show the legitimacy and accuracy of their information to the reader. These people included Pompeo himself along with fellow Politician Chuck Schumer and Andrew Weiss. Because the three gentlemen are rather directly related with the topic, it makes it easier for the reader to trust the information presented. Furthermore, they appealed to the reader’s Pathos by stirring up fear in the reader about our current relationship with Russia. The Authors used words like “war”, “political fallout”, and “ threat” to describe the United State’s relationship with Russia. Although they did include a few opposing quotes that mentioned the importance on working together against terrorism, the negative comments greatly outweighed the positive, clearly meant to sway the audience. The purpose of the article was to inform readers about the latest United States-Russia scandal. This is a rather serious topic since the two countries have had a rocky relationship in regards to the 2016 election hacking controversy. The authors used appeals to Ethos and Pathos, quotes, and tweets by the politicians involved to support their information. Overall the authors did a great and convincing job on delivering a message with minimal levels of bias present. https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/us/mckayla-maroney-lawsuit/index.html
Ray Sanchez 12/20/17 Ray Sanchez’s article told the heartbreaking story of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney’s sexual abuse by her team doctor Larry Nassar. The scandal first became public when Maroney joined the twitter tag #MeToo which began during the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal. The article was written to inform readers, and specifically young women who have faced sexual assault that speaking up is the right thing to do. The article maintained a warm tone in reference to the many gymnasts but a critical one when it came to Nassar. The author used informal diction throughout the article. He created feelings of bitter sympathy for Maroney and the other sexual assault victims using words such as “abuse of minors”,“medically necessary treatment", and “victims”. These word choices automatically pull at the heart strings, especially if the reader has young female family members or friends.The words showed the author’s sympathetic tone as well. However, Sanchez personally seemed to have little emotional attachment to the topic. Rhetorical devices that were heavily relied on are Ethos and Pathos. He uses these to appeal and persuade every part of the audience’s mind and shut down any possible criticisms that they may have. Firstly, Ethos was used by directly quoting Maroney’s verified twitter account on her experiences stating, “It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated'”. Sanchez also used snippets of the lawsuit that was filed against Nassar discussing the terms of the confidentiality agreement she had to sign, "I was forced to agree to a non-disparagement clause and confidentiality provision". Next, he used Pathos to make the reader sympathise with the long term abuse that went on in the victim's gymnastic world: “Maroney went public in October with allegations that Nassar repeatedly molested her, starting when she was 13 years old ”. The effects of these rhetorical devices came together to make a compelling argument in favor of McKayla and her family. The author’s tone was somewhat neutral, however sympathy for McKayla and a critical tone against Nassar was clearly present. Although testimonies were presented from both sides, the majority of opinions and details used in the article were clearly biased in favor of the young victim. For example, details of Nassar’s 60 year prison sentence and descriptions of the sexual misconduct as “horrific” illustrate this point. The purpose of the article was to inform the reader of the sexual abuse happening in Olympic gymnastics, specifically the victims of Larry Nassar. The entire article however was centered around the Maroney Case and the “treatments” she received from the age of 13 until she left the sport. Additionally, the article was an example for many young victims that sexual abuse happens all over the world and that speaking up is necessary. Considering that the author is a male, I found it very courageous of him to go out and write a condemning piece on sexual assault. Not only did he show zero sympathy for the abuser, he also showed a courageous example about standing up against sexual assault- something that I do not believe many men are comfortable doing. |
AuthorHarar rhetorically analyzes popular CNN articles. Archives
February 2018
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