Another topic we spoke about in class was media bias, for example how a news station or a specific reporter choses to report of cover a story. The news is supposed to be unbiased or impartial to the stories they are covering but that is rarely the case. The example that Professor Mangini gave us in class was the coverage on the Ebola Outbreak. Within the US the coverage on Ebola was outrageous and absolutely terrifying, maybe it was just a way to catch the publics attention and show them how serious it could get here if it wasn't stopped but I don't think that was what they achieved. The Ebola outbreak in Africa is a very serious matter but the way it was being reported on you would have thought that the Ebola outbreak was in the United States and not Africa. There were clips from news stations closer to "ground zero" that were calm, information was given in a non threatening way and that was it they would move on to the next topic. Although Ebola in itself is a very frightening ordeal I believe that if the media stuck with pure facts and less on gossip the public would be better informed.
I think the most interesting topic to me that we covered this week was learning about rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. Rhetoric is an effective means of communication which now is associated with lying or propaganda but this wasn't always the case. Rhetoric was once an art of the upper class and acted almost as a gate keeper between upper and lower class. Rhetoric is used to persuade in order to get the desired affect of an audience whether its a group of people or just one. To me a rhetorical analysis is the decisions that the writer/speaker choses to communicate to his audience using ethos which is credibility the quality of being trusted and believed in this may be established by the quality of your research or the way you present your topic being organized assertive and honest , logos which is appealing to the audiences logic and reason possibly by listing any facts that are confirmed by multiple credible sources, and last but certainly not least pathos which is appealing to the audiences emotions maybe by finding out the audiences beliefs, values, and concerns are and addressing them in a way that it specific to that audience.
This week at home has had its ups and downs who am I kidding its been mostly downs. I have been struggling a lot especially this week with time management. I am being stretched in so many different directions that I am starting to break. My mind races at night from todo lists for the following day to replaying the threatening conversations that now take place with my husband to worrying about school work and every single person that I know and love. I love my husband I always will without him I would never have such an amazing child but he needs professional help and refuses to get it and in turn it is putting not only himself but my son and I in danger and I wonder what he has in store for us. Then we have my cousin whom which she and I used to be inseparable she was like my big sister she always took care of me and protected me but within the last couple years got mixed up in some pretty bad things and has turned into tornado of chaos, destruction, and drama and ropes me into her mess time and time again and I finally thought it was over and again she is sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and messing with things that directly effect me and my son and our well being which has been a nightmare this week. Ive been noticing that I am having less and less time with my son who is my world which has been really upsetting me. to sum everything up I have severe Anxiety and Depression and going back on my meds may maybe this can be a topic for my I-Search Paper. What percentage of people are affected by these mental disorders? Or Why are they more common now?