Final Analysis
Rhetoric is not only used in ads aimed at getting consumers to buy a certain product. Is it also used in our daily news programs. As a people, we rely heavily on news from various television channels and it is clear that no channel is clear of having a certain social and/or political bias. While we believe that news coverage is supposed to be an area seen in only black and white, through the presence of rhetorical strategies does the delivering of news become much more gray. It is indicative though, that every news station clearly believes that the in which they are presenting the news is the most accurate and done in an unbiased way.
To show how there is a clear bias in the way news coverage is presented from certain media outlets in regards to their political bias, three popular news channels were chosen, displaying their version of the events surrounding Ferguson, Missouri following the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Wilson after the shooting and killing of teenager Michael Brown. By simply watching the three videos, and not analyzing more in depth, it is easy to see the different perspectives of the news outlets by what they choose to focus on reporting. The Fox News video speaks more on the protests and the violence that occurred resulting from said protests and the problems they see with them. The Daily Show is reporting on the much broader, systematic pattern that has emerged of unarmed black men being killed. ABC News reports on both the side of the city police officials and what the family is going through, as well as mentioning the protests. In all three videos, it is clear to see that logos, pathos, and ethos are all used in an effort to make an appeal to viewers, with only the content being presented from different perspectives.
Perhaps having multiple news stations showing differing coverage on the events not only in Ferguson, but for any national news story can be a more accurate reflection of the varying beliefs of people throughout the United States. What's problematic about this, though, is that viewers of which ever station is reflective of their views, will always believe they are correct and in the end the only result of this situation is various representations of one story being fed to the entire country. Rhetoric is almost always present anytime there is a consumer to be appealed to. It is evident that rhetoric is clearly involved in all of the news outlets portrayals of events because while there seems to be constant coverage of issues surrounding the events, news outlets have strayed far from the actual case in which all of this tragedy stemmed from - the loss of a human life. The rhetoric present in the various media outlets coverage can be used as a mass appeal to their target audiences, but it can also cause conflicting representations of the truth, which in the end, is most harmful because the American citizens deserve to hear the truth and the victims from tragedy of Ferguson deserve justice and peace.
To show how there is a clear bias in the way news coverage is presented from certain media outlets in regards to their political bias, three popular news channels were chosen, displaying their version of the events surrounding Ferguson, Missouri following the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Wilson after the shooting and killing of teenager Michael Brown. By simply watching the three videos, and not analyzing more in depth, it is easy to see the different perspectives of the news outlets by what they choose to focus on reporting. The Fox News video speaks more on the protests and the violence that occurred resulting from said protests and the problems they see with them. The Daily Show is reporting on the much broader, systematic pattern that has emerged of unarmed black men being killed. ABC News reports on both the side of the city police officials and what the family is going through, as well as mentioning the protests. In all three videos, it is clear to see that logos, pathos, and ethos are all used in an effort to make an appeal to viewers, with only the content being presented from different perspectives.
Perhaps having multiple news stations showing differing coverage on the events not only in Ferguson, but for any national news story can be a more accurate reflection of the varying beliefs of people throughout the United States. What's problematic about this, though, is that viewers of which ever station is reflective of their views, will always believe they are correct and in the end the only result of this situation is various representations of one story being fed to the entire country. Rhetoric is almost always present anytime there is a consumer to be appealed to. It is evident that rhetoric is clearly involved in all of the news outlets portrayals of events because while there seems to be constant coverage of issues surrounding the events, news outlets have strayed far from the actual case in which all of this tragedy stemmed from - the loss of a human life. The rhetoric present in the various media outlets coverage can be used as a mass appeal to their target audiences, but it can also cause conflicting representations of the truth, which in the end, is most harmful because the American citizens deserve to hear the truth and the victims from tragedy of Ferguson deserve justice and peace.