http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/20/arizona-sheriff-paul-babeu-leaves-romney-campaign-faces-criticism-after-gay-outing/
Read the article above and answer the following questions.
1. What is the aurthor's tone through out the article?
2. Who is his ideal and real audiences?
3. How does he attempt to convey his message?
4. Is this article persuasive? Why or why not?
5. How does this article relate to our class theme of public vs. private?
A few other questions to consider are "How does the American public, view being homosexual?" "How does the author show that Americans have such a rational mind set?"
ReplyDeleteThroughout the article, the author writes in a condescending tone. Although he remains impartial, his word choice and what he actually reports reveals that he disapproves of the sheriff’s actions. For instance, he writes “Babeu has been something of an enigma since he first appeared on the scene.” This wording does make the reader feel like the writer supports the sheriff. The ideal audience for this article is a democratic-minded person who is interested in politics. Many of the issues that the sheriff was against he himself acted in the contradictory manner and some of the Republicans he supported still support him. The author wants to show that many republicans are hypocrites and that their criticisms of the president are minor compared to what they are doing. The real audience is anyone who reads the posts on this website. To convey his message, the author uses statements from Babeu, previous stances he had on certain political issues, and political observers’ opinions. This article is persuasive because it only casts a light on the negative aspects of the sheriff. Instead of listing the sheriff’s accomplishments, the author emphasizes each issue that the sheriff contradicts himself and how Babeu’s longtime ally has distanced himself. This shows even Babeu’s friends and supporters are abandoning him. This article relates to our class theme because one’s sexual orientation is usually a private matter, but the sheriff was forced to reveal his to the public. The American view of being homosexual is somewhat divided, but this article focuses on those opposed to the lifestyle. He writes that when the sheriff exposed his sexual orientation, his political future was over.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the author's tone is one of disapproval about the sheriff's actions. The author is most likely a democrat because the author speaks about how the sheriff's announcement will hurt his republican image. The author is trying to show republicans as being hypocritical and has a very negative tone throughout the article about republicans. The author uses several quotes from the sheriff and shows that the sheriff has lost support within his party to show that his republican image is hurt by the announcement.
DeleteDo you think that the author of this article loses credibility as an author because he is so unsuccessful in being unbiased? Since he is supposed to be a news reporter, not a political commentator do you believe that he should have made more of an attempt to be less bias in his writing and remain impartial to his audience?
DeleteI agree with emily in this case the author tries to write an un bias article but several techniques he uses cues us in on his opinion of the officer. First the title in bold letters there is a very unbias informative name to the article but in italics under neath that reads"Babeu's conservative image took a beating as he was forced to confirm publicly that he is gay and was involved in a relationship with a Mexican immigrant" there is a certain sarcastic tone to the way he puts this to show his dissatisfaction with the actions carried out by the officer.The word choice here also shows an un bias tone. He uses powerful verbs like "beating" to keep this image up of how bad the officer messed up. He also uses hyperlinks to republican pages to perhaps show his view on the situation and his partisanship.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Emily and Greg that the author tries to write an unbiased article but in the end the author's opinion shows through the article. This article is very persuasive for someone who is really big into politics but it is not as persuasive to someone who does not like to deal with politics. The way the author portrays the sheriff, who may or may not be guy, as a person who was an all American man and then since being accused of being gay, is almost not American. That his sexuality can ruin his public persona and make him a disgrace to campaigns he supports. Your sexuality is a very private matter and when it stays private, it is fine because no one asks. Being a public figure and having your sexuality exposed, if true or not, affects your reputation and even what you stand for. One point that makes its persuasive is the location and how it is in a community of Mormons and Christians that have strong family values. Americans, in general, have very different views when it comes to certain issues. In some communities homosexuality is like the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policies but other places it is more open minded to the idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that the author is attempting to write an unbiased article, but he is extremely unsuccessful in doing so. You can sense the author's disapproval of Babeu and the whole situation throughout the article. I think the author is attempting to portray the hypocrisy of the situation, and through portraying that message the author comes off as biased. The article's ideal audience would be a politically minded democrat. The real audience seems to be synonymous with the ideal audience because a republican audience would not want to hear about a person bringing down the image of the party so a democratic audience would be the only logical option of people really reading this type of article. Overall this article is persuasive in making the audience think poorly of Babeu, in this situation and in this article he really comes off looking like a liar. This article relates to our class theme because this whole situation is the collision of the public and the private through the media. Babeu's private life is being forced into the public spectrum because of the press.
ReplyDeleteI think this article is persuasive to someone who may not have much of an opinion in politics, this would persuade them to think that republicans are hypocritical (like Emily said), and that they don't stay true to their stereotype of not being supportive of homosexuality. I also think that the author, while trying to be biased, is showing his feelings about the subject through his word choice like Emily said. Something as private as sexuality does affect the credibility of republicans, which may make Babeu seem hypocritical or not a "true" republican.
ReplyDeleteI think the author's tone was not that definable. I felt the author was reporting the facts and didn't take a side on the issue. I did not get any hints of being biased towards a side. The ideal audience are voters. This whole article was based on a person who dealt heavily with politics and social issues. His real audience I believe, is the same as his ideal audience for the most part. This was an article that was very informative and did not have much to offer other than facts and quotes. The message, is there is one, is conveyed through the little bits and pieces between the quotes. It gives this idea that here is a fact, and here is something else to think about. I did not think this article was very persuasive. It is a news article that dealt with facts and quotes. This article relates to our course theme of private versus public by showing how much the public cares about the privates lives of citizens and political figures. This was a huge deal once found out, since for the most part, conservatives are opposed to gay marriage.
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ReplyDeleteI understand where people may think that this article would be more persuasive if it were less bias but at the same time that's how this author shows his position on the subject at hand. In order to be persuasive you must choose an argument and stand by it with support. This is a very strong and timely article because it does address a sensitive issue in today's society and it's one that obviously brings a divide to our nation's political views.
ReplyDeleteThis article relates to this class's theme because sexual orientation can be a very private matter for some people, especially those who struggle with figuring their own out. Exploiting it for political purposes seems wrong on both ends even though homosexuality in society is a hot botton issue. The author appears to feel that the sheriff was in the wrong and maybe express that in a slightly biased but still effective manner.
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