For the weblog:

Just provide a two paragraph summary like the example in the book (82-83). As you can see, one of these 2 paragraphs is devoted to the articulation of the main thesis and the supporting reasons that are invoked to back it up. The other paragraph shall be devoted to (depending on the argument) the argument’s awareness of the opposite point of view in the form either of explicit support for its underlying assumptions or response to counterarguments. As you know some argument pay attention to this aspect and some don’t hence my “depending on the argument.”

Ask the students to find fault with the argument (to critique it from a doubting perspective: find fault with its use evidence (logos), use of pathos (appeals to emotions), and attention or lack of attention to opposite viewpoints).

Students should refer to particular parts of the passage (page and paragraph cited with direct brief examples or quotations) with specificity to support their critique (otherwise it is pointless). This will be at most one paragraph long.

For the presentation:

Establish the argumentative conversation the argument is a part of (a contextual narrative that situates its main claim in a bigger context with counterarguments). To do this, you could articulate and briefly explain the counterargument to which this argument is a reaction.

Follow that up with a rhetorical analysis of the argument pointing out both its rhetorical strengths and its weaknesses. Restate the thesis and the mains reasons supporting it. Evaluate the evidence used in terms of STAR criteria (89-90). Evaluate the reliance on emotions (pathos) or Logos (use of logical and accurate reasoning, use of credible sources etc) and how these enhance or undermine the credibility of the writer for a larger audience.

Pick two of the best responses from the weblog and explain why they were the best!

Conclude your powerpoint presentation with a list of further questions!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Plugged In, Tuned Out: Young Americans Are Embracing New Media but Failing to Develop an Appetite for News

Dan Kennedy


In this article, Dan Kennedy looks at the ongoing changes in how the human race operates when it comes to media and the news. An assistant professor at Northeastern University’s school of Journalism in Boston, Kennedy often writes on the media trends of the era. Kennedy examines that over the past decades the population of young Americans has decreased in news interaction. In his starting argument, Kennedy explains that if you were to examine an American in their late teens to 30s, they would not be doing something a person of this age did 50 years ago. Kennedy has many things to blame his reasoning on. He explains that with technological advances many young adults reach out to different sources rather than the traditional newspaper. He also states that young adults are entering an age where they were not brought up with strong news enforcement. ““What’s happening, I think is that many more of them are entering adulthood without a news habit,” says Tom Patterson, the Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (474.)” Kennedy does state that though Americans have decreased in the traditional news, they have developed an interest in online services. From Facebook to online news services, more young adults are reading the news from the easiest way they can reach it, which would be with their technology.

After reading Kennedy entire article, it is easy to say that he is very strong on suggesting that many young adults are uninterested in the news. He blames many of this on technology and that the news is very uninteresting. Kennedy speaks that we need ways of entertainment to be interested in the news. Even though this may be true, I think that the news does not need to be entertaining to meet the needs of young readers. The news is a very important aspect in the survival of our country. Just because, young people are more interested in technological advances does not mean we have subjected the news to a back burner. Many young adults understand that the news is a very important aspect and keep up with this. Whether it from the television or to online services, many people are keeping up with the news. Just because a person does not know all of the leaders of our country does not mean that they are not up to date on our current standing.
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5 comments:

  1. Baleigh1011October 4, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    It is clearly obvious that young people today are keeping up with the latest technilogical advances however, an individuals interest in the latest technology does not necessarily mean that he or she is not in tune with the news. Todays technology is inclined to download apps that are specifically related to political, economical, etc. news. The news today is also directed primarily to older adults, not younger citizens who have not yet begun the transitions of life that older citizens have. The younger generation does not feel that the news is addressed to them, Woodruff emphasizes this whe he states " Its [the news] presented in a way that makes sence to people who are older...There's a lot of jargon in the news, and there's an adult framing of the news..."(475) Woodruff also gives a solution to this issue by finding what younger individuals are interested in and addressing the news to them. This would be a very beneficial solution and it would increase the rate of younger people who read or tune in to the news.

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  2. Meredith LesterOctober 4, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    If the main point of this article is that young people are not interested in the news, then the opposing claim would be that young people are interested in the news. Kennedy does mention some support to the opposing claim. Kravtis says ,"...younger people are just more accustomed to interacting with the world through a new medium like the internet than through a medium like radio[or TV or newspapers..."(478) Obviously we haven't grown up reading the news or watching it on tv. We still care about the news to some extent. Although we may not be obsessed with watching the news and learning about every little bit of news, we still pay attention to significant news, such as the war in Iraq or latest political problems. We are attracted to things we can actually participate in. Foe example, Kennedy says that " I think it works because people actually get to participate in it."(478) According to Kennedy,the website Diggs.com is a very popular social media news site. I would probably go on this website to hear about what young people are the most popular news stories. Young people today are interested in the news, we just learn about it differently and don't let it consume our lives and time.

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  3. AliOctober 4, 2011 at 6:10 PM

    "Why does it matter if teenagers don't read the newspaper? More likely tha not, most people are affected by national or international affairs. Most college kids probably see the news when they log into their computers and see yahoo news. They prefer laptops over newspaper (478). It doesn't really matter where they get there news from as long as they get it. On another note, most news isn't directly related to anyone. Only major disastors or recession anouncements affect everyone. Some kids might find news about "new laws on leashes" tedious."

    Duchuy

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  4. Bria JohnsonOctober 5, 2011 at 6:20 AM

    It seems that the main goal of the article is to put emphasizes on the fact that the world under 40 years, it not into the new media as they "should be". Although I am still confused as who what the requirements are for those who "should be" following the media. The authors biggest argument is that the younger generation needs to stay informed and intone to what is going on in their surrounds. While this is true, this can be disputed in two ways. One, being that it is our own fault that the younger generations are not into media because they teaching generation before them did not stress the importance of keeping up with the society we live in. Dispute Two, is that the younger generation should take the initiative to become knowledgable about what is going on in their environment and how it many affect them.

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  5. TaspiaOctober 9, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    Kennedy's approach in the article was mainly to examine on how our generation are more dependant on alternative venue such as The Daily Show With John Stewart or even Cartoons like Family guy than reading a news paper. Keeping up with news has always been important and today's advancing technology has made that a lot easier for us. But to what extent we are following it? Despite the long hours young adults spend on the internet, they're not necessarily looking at for news, and even if they are, that doesn't mean they're going to visit the Web Cites of local newspaper(476). The old traditinal way of reading newspaper has been slowly deminishing from this new pop culture. The young adults might had grown up seeing someone adult in the house waiting for the morning newspaper on the doorway with a cup of tea in hand but how many of us would actually do that when we are in our adulthood. There is always so many more ways to keep up with the world through massmedia and be able to participate in it, but the old-fashioned way of waiting for the daily news on news channel or going over the newspaper is not what we see or will see in the upcoming generations. As long as we are not spending too much of our time in non-news-related social media online, we still can have as much knowledge as a reguler CNN viewer has or more. Sometimes, the web sites of the newspapers are more interesting than the paper itself which drags us to it more. As Wilper says,"And it can bring people back to the print medium"(478). In fact, Web sites like Digg and Reddit are even growing faster than the traditional newspaper sites as the Kennedy's school's Tom Patterson studied.

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