Topic: WITHHELD INFORMATION & SUSPECT ETHOS
Intro:
Sometimes, newspapers tell the truth, but they don't tell us the whole truth. Although they don't lie, the readers get a wrong impression of some fact because of WITHHELD INFORMATION.
Task 1:
Read pp. 116-119 in our light blue textbook (Dick Rogers' rhetorical analysis of a Web article which was withholding essential information).
Task 2: Discuss in class what you think of such withheld information, and the false impression that results from it. Is it dangerous to the public? Is it honest? If you have any examples (from history, newspapers, etc.), let us know!
Task 3: Create a short newspaper article with pictures/graphs/statistics that conveys a certain image, but withholds part of the necessary information (email that to me; it will go in a slide show). Then, write a criticism about this newspaper article (as a comment to this blog entry), publishing the withheld information (can either be pictures, or text that was withheld), and write in the style of Dick Rogers what the result is when readers don't know about the missing information.
I'll give you an example:
Imagine you read an article about poor children begging in the streets, and see a heartbreaking picture with it.
However, the picture ONLY shows the begging children, which makes you feel sorry for them and want to help. This article was intended to make people give them money to help those children. HOWEVER, it does NOT show you the man standing behind the street corner observing the children - he belongs to a ring of men kidnapping street kids and forcing them to beg. They actually have to deliver all their money to the men, and only get enough food and clothing to survive. As a critic, you have found the missing part of the picture (and/or text), and expose it now in your own WHOLE story.
Your story then makes a completely different ARGUMENT: instead of donating money to help poor kids, you need to raise awareness of kidnapping rings abusing children for making money out of them. What you really tell the reader is, "those kids don't do it voluntarily; and if you give them money, they won't get to keep it, anyway."
9 comments:
Have you ever seen an ad for 50% off a product and then when you read the fine print there are certain promotions?
The Carbondale Daily had a posted ad that did just this. Marketer's posted an ad that had fine print that did not give all the information that a consumer may need. When you spend a certain amount of money or apply for the credit card is the only time that one gets the 20% - 50% off. What Marketer's does not tell a customer is that there is a monthly charge on the credit card. The store left out withheld information. They say that the offer is only available today so when you see the sign that one has to react fast.
All in all, the withheld information that is left out is quite important for customers.
Yes Everyday life may give you a rejuvenating feelings, but it also may cause a heart attack after that feeling. Everyday are vitamins for senior citizens. It's first advertisement was posting in "Health Weekly" as a good decision for senior citizens. What they failed to mention was that it has numerous side effects. These side effects include: Difficult swallowing, difficultly breathing, swollen body parts, heart attack, stroke, and dizziness. Is the feeling of being born again worth our senior citizens lives. This advertisement promoted the pros of Everyday Life, but failed to realize the cons and side effects. These things are not realized by readers when viewing an advertisement. The reality is that a life can be lost over taking one vitamin.
Have you ever viewed the tabloids and read about the latest celebrity gossip? After reading some of the affairs and scandals, you have probably wondered how true these scandals are. Well according to the Carbondale Inquirer, David Crump is having an affair with model Ann Summers, right? Wrong! The inquirer failed to mention that David and Ann are posing on a magazine cover. Apparently, Rich man's magazine is promoting Crump's Newly crowned Miss Continental winner. So the next time you view celebrity gossip, try to think about how true the story really is.
Have you ever pondered the joys of stock marketing? It can be thrilling, yet stressful, especially when given false hopes that your own stock has either plummeted or skyrocketed. The most recent stock analysis for Saluki Daily was released for their anniversary, but the graph is very misleading. Economists were lead to believe that their most recent stock has skyrocketed, raising their stock value. The graph is misleading because it is a monthly graph that gives the averages of the month's total stock. The economists believe it is new. Saluki Daily did this in order to deceive more clients into buying more stock based on the false information given to them.
In sum, this information would have been more useful for the buyers, especially those strapped for money.
As I was reading the ‘Hours’ paper, I stumbled across an article that looked rather intriguing entitled “Teens Reducing Drinking Habits”. I decided to take a look and found that it was very peculiar. I wasn’t sure if everything they said seemed correct, so I did research on my own and found that in fact, this article is not the whole truth. The graph shown on the newspaper is actually kids who are increasing their drinking habits at a younger age instead of the decrease in age and consumption. The article didn’t lie about the 12th graders reducing their alcohol consumption, but they also didn’t include that there was an increase in the 10th and 8th grades. The 12th, 10th and 8th grades are seemingly increasing as the years go on. The article falsified the graph and took the ‘Alcohol Free Zone’ sign from a completely different area then where the study with the graph was performed. It is not known why Joe Smith had decided to not include these valuable points in his article. Maybe he was trying to aim at a certain subject, but he should have added the entire picture. If he had done that, the story and the graph would make a lot more sense.
As I was reading the Central Times, I stumbled across a very deep article. This article was about local participants of an organization named, Caroling Charity that have been caught stealing from local fundraising buckets. People that are benefiting from this organization are people who have nothing. By stealing from the underprivileged, it really shows how much of an evil person you are. This article made me realize how insensitive and evil people really can be, which was very upsetting.
Have Charities ever make you wonder if the money really goes to the charities that you donate to?
Well the Greenville Times posted an article claiming that the children never get the donations and that they drink milk from the farm animals as if they are animals. It is known that many Foundations do give their dontations to starving children. And they do not let the children fed from the animal themselves. They would have such an up roar from the soical services along with the rest of the public.
Recently The Daily Informer printed an article discussing the uncoming opening of the Big W in Carbondale, Illinois. During the ad they make the new superstore seem like a heaven on earth gracing Carbondale with it's presence. Little do the people know that there is more to this superstore then what the article lead them to believe. Yes, the Big W does will employ many of Carbondale's residence but at what cost? It is reported that the Big W greatly underpays their employees and force them to work hours of over time with no extra pay. Another tid bit of information that was excluded from the article is the lack of breaks their employees recieve and the have forced labor factories in poor countries where they use child labor.
This important information was withheld from the article and unfortunatley it was information that needed to be included but what writer would have? Not only is this new Big W hurting it's employees it is sure to hurt this community.
by Todd Kostecki
As i was reading a article in the newspaper i came across an interesting article. Not interesting because it struck my attention in a good way, but because it struck my attention in a bad way. The reason for this is because I happen to know a relative that went to this school for the blind and that relative actually told me that the school was one of the poorest in the nation. Where in the article the writer brags about how the teachers are so good and the school is so great. This is the first thing i noticed wrong with the article. The second thing wrong with it is that the picture on the front shows a picture of a school. And this is fine but in the article it talks about how the school is safely fenced off for children. This is another false statement because there is actually no fence at all and the area around the school is very unsafe and has a high crime rate. The writer of this article, should have included this information that was behind the scenes, in the article as well. This article shows that people really can be criminals and not care about the likes of others just as long as they get their money.
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