http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/16/us/tina-frost-vegas-shooting-victim-recovers/index.html
Cassandra Santiago and Josiah Ryan, CNN 10/16/17 Santiago and Ryan -along the victim’s mother- explained how Tina Frost was shot in the Vegas concert, followed by details of her road to recovery. Frost is one of the 500+ victims shot by Stephen Paddock at the Jason Aldean concert, a tragedy that has captivated the entire world. However, two weeks after she was shot, Frost walked a total of 6 steps around her hospital room; she also began breathing on her own for 6 hours. Since the authors kept a rather uplifting and hopeful tone, this piece was a reminder to the millions world-wide, of the light at the end of this dark tunnel. The authors used informal diction consisting of mainly factual words to make the article appear bias free. However, they did use many positive words to describe Frost’s recovery, giving the piece an overall uplifting emotion. Specifically, they used the words “progress”, “strength”, and “ upswing”.The words were primarily to allude to the emotion and attitude that was likely felt by the victim herself in this recovery process. They also sound like small forms of encouragement that the doctors could’ve used on Tina to speed up her recovery .Based on the length of the article and the factual diction, I don't believe that the Santiago and Ryan were emotionally attached to the the topic. It seemed to me as reporters merely doing their job. Santiago and Ryan appealed to Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. The article began with an appeal to both Ethos and Pathos by using details on Frost and her small accomplishments with quotes from her GoFundMe page. For instance, the article stated, “... [ Frost] continues to… progress. Frost squeezes hands, taps her foot to music and gives a thumbs up to her boyfriend Austin on request”. These were specifically used to give the reader a visual image of her hardships while tugging at their hearts, making them more invested in the story. In addition to publishing the article on a world known news source, the authors strengthen their credibility by frequently citing information from the GoFundMe page run by her family. An appeal to Logos was made by mentioning specific facts/statistics within the article. For instance, according to her donation page, “ [ Frost’s] GoFundMe page, which had an original goal of $50,000, has raised more than $556,000 for her medical expenses”. This established their knowledge on the subject and gave further information on the topic. The authors maintained a supportive and uplifting tone. They spoke little on the murders or tragedy of the shooting. Instead, they focused on every detail of Tina’s recovery, regardless of the significance; showing that every little bit of progress was a reason for celebration. The authors also created this tone by including an interview with the victim’s mother who spoke of Tina’s strength and her full confidence in her daughter's recuperation. As I learned in Psychology, repeated exposure to anything makes it seem normal and more likely to happen again. By repeating words such as “progress”, or minor details such as Tina’s newfound ability to tap her foot, families of other victims, and people across the country, will be more optimistic of the other’s convalesce. Which could possibly have been the author's’ goal. The purpose was to inform readers of the vegas shooting victims, the possible recoveries, and to make readers aware of needed donations .Personally, as a reader, this piece made me feel hopeful. Since the day of the shooting, I have heard nothing except the death tolls or details about the shooter, Stephen Paddock. This article was a way of saying, “ Hey, I know that there has been a tragedy! Get up and do something about it”. This was clear from the repeated mentions of GoFundMe accounts and the success that it has been having.This topic is extremely important right now because America is in a state of tragedy. With all of the hurricanes, wildfires, and mass shootings that we have all been hearing about, nobody seems to be stopping and taking a minute to look at the positives that came out of it. If more articles, or news outlets focused less on the hard facts or negativity surrounding these tragedies, maybe people will be less likely to commit these kind of acts in the future.
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AuthorHarar rhetorically analyzes popular CNN articles. Archives
February 2018
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