Jazmine Ibarra

27 October 2020

Fire Cohort

General Topic: ​Breonna Taylor

News source 1: ​Wonkette

Title of article:​ ​Some Small Justice For Breonna Taylor

1. Who is the readership of this news source? What kind of audience do they have?

According to the media bias chart, ​Wonkette​ has a readership of nearly five hundred

thousand people that consists of a left-leaning audience. On the chart, Wonkette is shown

between Most Extreme Left and Hyper-Partisan Left. They are located on the very bottom or red

quadrant which means the news source contains propaganda, misleading information, as well as

inaccurate and/or fabricated information. One can tell that the audience is very supportive of the

opinions of the author (of the article), Stephen Robinson because some of their opinions align

and others sympathize with him.

2. What does the title of the article tell you about its bias or slant/twist? Does the title seem

like genuine, unbiased news? How so?

The title of the article, “Some Small Justice For Breonna Taylor,” tells the audience that

it has to do with a case that didn’t go as planned and wasn’t in favor of the victim, as mentioned
in the title, Breonna Taylor. The title does not say straightforwardly that Breonna Taylor is the

victim of this case, but it is implied. The title does not seem like genuine, unbiased news. It is not

neutral. If it were neutral it wouldn’t have the word justice in it because justice can look or be

served in different ways, depending on the person. It is not genuine, unbiased news because by

siding with the victim, one can determine that the author and his/her readership are not in favor

of the opposing side (right-leaning), which in this case, are the police officers who broke into

Taylor’s home.

3. Make a list of the terms you see being used and create a general definition of HOW

THEY ARE BEING USED and what meaning they are conveying. Include an example of

the term in the article.

a. Example: ​Thug​- This is being used to describe the victim, even though he has no

criminal associations or past. It is being used to make it seem like he deserved

what happened to him because he was a bad or criminal person. It also seems to

be used as a derogatory way of referring to men of color, which we have seen in

many news stories as a way to support police brutality. “He was walking around

at night, dressed as a thug, and drew immediate suspicion” (Peters).

b. “blue lives matter”​- This is being used to describe police officers and, in my

opinion, mocking of the movement, Black Lives Matter, and what it stands for. It

is being used to make it seem like all police officers are bad and put the blame on

them. It also seems to be used as a derogatory way of referring to anyone on the

police force, even if others have not committed any wrongdoing. It implies that

the police officers that were responsible weren’t arrested because they were “just
 doing their job” as police officers, but the bias is very clear that they are leftist.

They side with Breonna Taylor and denounce authorities such as police officers.

“Those responsible were never arrested because they’re police officers and ​blue

lives matter​ and we should stop giving cops a hard time” (Robinson).

c. Stooge​- This is being used to describe Donald Trump and the author’s

unhappiness/annoyance with the case being handled by Donald Trump. Donald

Trump is a republican and that is enough reason for the author to hate him

because the author is an extreme leftist. It is yet another way for the author to use

mockery and perhaps mudslinging to somehow damage Donald Trump’s

reputation further. “However, the civil settlement has nothing to do with the

ongoing criminal investigation, which is in the hands of Donald Trump ​stooge

and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron” (Robinson).

d. Brutalize​- This is being used to describe the way police officers treat people of

color and how the author does not agree with the case turnout. It is being used to

paint all police officers or perhaps any member that has any authority whatsoever,

as the bad guys. Furthermore, it explains the author’s stance on authoritative

figures, the police, and that he doesn’t trust or agree with them. It puts all police

officers into this mold that they are bad, they will hurt you, and they will receive a

bunch of love and support while people of color will face backlash, struggle, and

no justice. Not only does it make clear that the author sides with Breonna Taylor,

but people of color in general. “I guess it’s only fair that the cops who​ brutalize

Black people have an easy commute” (Robinson).

 e. Trolls​- Trolls are usually described as “a mythical ugly creature, now it usually

means an intentionally disruptive person on the internet” (​quora.com​). This is

being used to describe those who were complaining about the settlement. They

said Taylor’s family only wanted the money from it, saying her mother “won

money” as if losing her daughter and receiving the money, was a prize. It was

used to incite emotions from the audience, to make them angry at those internet

trolls, and side with the author and his beliefs. “Joseph Gerth, a columnist for the

Louisville Courier Journal, ​called out the ​trolls​ who emerged from their slime

holes to complain about the settlement” (Robinson).

4. What kinds of images, if any, does this article feature? What do they do for the article as

a whole?

There is one image at the beginning of the article which features Breonna

Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, at the podium in court. On Ms. Palmer’s shirt is her

daughter’s name printed in blue, all caps. I think it is intended to make the audience feel

sympathy for Breonna and her family, more specifically her mother who is bearing

witness. There is also a video in the article, but due to restricted mode, it is inaccessible.

From the sarcastic, mocking tone present throughout the article, I can assume that the

video also supports the author’s opinions that all cops are bad and Breonna Taylor/Black

people deserve more than money to make up for the lives that they’ve lost.
5. Who is interviewed in this article? Who is used as a source/witness? Does this

demonstrate additional bias? Does the use of this witness indicate that they are looking

for the truth or looking to further their specific stant/spin? Explain.

No one is interviewed in the article, but the source or witness could be Tamika

Palmer, Breonna’s mom. The entire article does defend those from the colored

community, more specifically Breoona Taylor and her mom from any criticisms from

other news sources/outlets. For example, at the very beginning of the article, the author

says ”If we make the police feel bad whenever they break into an innocent woman’s

home and kill her, they might feel unappreciated and less motivated to protect us when

bad guys with guns break into our own homes and open fire. Do you support leftist

anarchy?” (Robinson).

This establishes the author’s political stance/beliefs as leftist and sets the tone of

the article, which is sarcastic and mocking. The use of the witness, Tamika Palmer, does

not indicate that they are looking for the truth, but rather to further their specific

stant/spin because he has only picked out articles that support his claims. One example of

this would be the following quote: “If you don’t spend much time with Black people, you

might not recognize our expressions of joy, but I can assure you, that wasn’t it. Palmer

will carry this burden and feel this loss for the rest of her days” (Robinson). This is

mentioned at the very end of the article and serves a purpose to make the audience

sympathize with Tamika Palmer’s loss of her daughter.

 The quotes, “One person wrote on Fischer’s official Facebook page this whole

thing was “all about the money”, and “Her mother looks a lot happier now that she won

money,” another disgusting person wrote after Tamika Palmer spoke and fought to hold

back tears” provides further evidence to support the author’s claims (Robinson). It paints

a picture for the audience and doesn’t leave room for further opinion because it does give

both sides of the story. The author also called the people who said these things about Ms.

Palmer “trolls who emerged from their slime holes to complain about the settlement”

(Robinson).

The author also states that “This is the largest settlement for a Black woman the

police killed, which is a paltry honor” (Robinson). Paltry meaning small or meager, so he

is stating that the settlement because it is the largest for a woman of color who was killed

by the police, is a small honor. I think that no amount of riches could amount to the life

of a person. After all, money is a social construct, so is time, months, etc. It’s just a way

for us to keep track of things, I suppose.

6. Where/how do you see ethos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

“​Ethos​ is when an argument is constructed based on the ​ethics​ or ​credibility​ of

the person making the argument” (​softschools.com​). One example of ethos could be the

quote from Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mom. The author also includes a picture

and a video in the article, also featuring Palmer. I am assuming that the video is of

Palmer giving her testimony in court because I can see Louisville on the podium she
 standing at in the video. The grey-blue piece behind Ms. Palmer reads “Louisville Metro

Hall” which is a city government office in Louisville, Kentucky, where, according to the

article, Breonna Taylor was shot to death in her sleep. There is not much ethos in this

article because it is more opinion-based than factual.

The author also includes quotes from more famous and reliable news sources such

as the New York Times. The New York Times has been around since 1851 providing

people with news coverage through newspapers, articles, and such. On the media bias

chart, they are located in the blue quadrant in the middle which means that they have a

neutral or balanced bias, contain content that is original fact reporting, and are most

reliable for news. The author is trying to use the NY Time’s good reputation to show the

audience that they are supposedly a trustworthy and credible news source, too.

7. Where/how do you see logos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

“​Logos​ is your logical argument for your point” (​fs.blog​). The logos appeal is not

used at all in this article. The author is a leftist and because he is, so is his audience. The

article only serves one side of the story which is of those of the colored community, more

specifically Breonna Taylor as well as her mother, Tamika Palmer. They are both painted

as victims in the article and tries to get the audience to sympathize with them. By only

providing their side of the story, as well as the author providing his own opinions

throughout the article, proves that it is not a reliable source to utilize if you want factual

information. The only factual information provided is things correlated to the case such
 as “..the city will pay Taylor’s fail $12 million as part of a lawsuit settlement” as well as

the news that “Fischer fired police chief Steve Conrad in June” (Robinson).

8. Where/how do you see pathos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

“​Pathos ​is your attempt to sway an audience emotionally” (​fs.blog​). Pathos is the

one appeal out of the three (ethos, logos, pathos) that is present in the article. From the very

beginning of the article, the author is trying to get the audience to feel pity for Breonna Taylor’s

mom, Tamika Palmer. She looks upset at the podium, which is the first and only photo in the

article. The following quote urges the audience to sympathize with Ms. Palmer and the loss of

her daughter: “I cannot begin to imagine Ms. Palmer’s pain, and I am deeply, deeply sorry for

Breonna’s death,” Fischer said, referring to Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer” (Robinson).

The author is constantly trying to persuade the audience to feel bad for her. Death is

inevitable, but the way that Breonna Taylor died, by the hands of two cops, “while she was

sleeping and shot...to death” was not ok (Robinson). The author expresses his opinions on this

matter and it is clear that he is not happy with what happened at all. This is proven by this line

“Mayor Greg Fischer announced that the city will pay Taylor’s family $12 million as part of a

lawsuit settlement” (Robinson) which appeals to logos, but the pathos portion is this:

“This isn’t funded by police union dues or anything, so Black people’s own tax dollars

will contribute to cleaning up after the cops” (Robinson). How does he know that the money is

coming out of the colored community’s pockets? No evidence is provided and it riles up the
audience. What’s more, is the fact that he’ll try to gain the audience’s support through comments

like this: “The city did pass a law banning no-knock warrants that was named after Taylor. She

would’ve preferred to name her future kids” (Robinson). Also, the words or phrasing that the

author uses, the words that I mentioned in the word bank previously, are a way for the author to

persuade an extremely important audience. These words are usually not even factually correct,

but are used to the author’s advantage: to make the audience believe what they want.

9. What is the purpose of this article? What are they trying to convey about this situation?

The purpose of the article is to get the audience to believe that justice was not rightfully

served to Breonna Taylor. Just because her family was given a large sum of money, does not

mean that it will lessen the pain, they most definitely feel. I also think that the author was trying

to convey that all police are bad. It’s not explicitly said, but it is implied by his mocking of them:

“Those responsible were never arrested because they’re police officers and blue lives matter...”

and

“​One of the three officers, Brett Hankison, was fired in June for “violating procedure."

The other two — Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly — probably hope that the Louisville

police department remains unable to count. Hankison is appealing his termination.​ (It's not as if

he killed ​two​ Black women or even one white woman.)​” (Robinson). There are subtle lines

like this that hint at racism and inequality due to race. There is also more to add fuel to the fire

which is the author’s obvious dislike towards Republicans such as Trump and his involvement in

the case.
 The author also said, “I guess it’s only fair that the cops who brutalize Black people have

an easy commute” which strengthens his opinions but not the facts (Robinson). Where is his

evidence that cops brutalize black people? If some do, where is the evidence? For some context,

the author has mixed feelings about the housing credits that the officers are receiving as well as

the paid community service that he quoted from the New York Times. He does not like the fact

that the authorities are being paid for their wrongdoings but also calls it an honor for “...the

largest settlement for a Black woman the police killed” (Robinson). Hypocritical? Yes. Biased?

Also, yes. Extreme leftist? Definitely. More proof of this is provided by the other articles that the

author has written on Wonkette which are based on the mockery of Republicans, their actions, as

well as celebrities.

10. How does the purpose of the article relate to the audience?

The purpose of the article relates to the audience because like the author, the audience are

people who are extreme leftists. To be an extreme leftists means that you are someone who/a

news or media source that is “moderately to strongly biased toward liberal causes through story

selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that

attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading

reports and omit reporting information that may damage liberal causes”

(mediabiasfactcheck.com). The whole purpose of this article is to gain sympathy for the Black

community, but more specifically, Breonna Taylor (who wasn’t given the justice/life she
deserved) and her (grieving) mom who is facing criticisms that are all just internet trolls and

wrong.

11. What spin do you see going on? How is the writer trying to angle/slant the story? What is

the article focusing on?

The spin that I see going on is that the right side is bad and the left side is good. The

author wants the audience to feel bad for the victim and her family, and view the right side (cops,

Republicans, etc) as bad. The writer tries to angle/slant the story by always favoring the left and

disparaging, downgrading, or belittling the right, which makes it an incredibly biased source and

article. I mentioned this in one of my previous responses, but also the use of language or terms is

in favor of the left because it is mostly negative. The words/terms/phrases that I mentioned are:

blue lives matter, stooge, brutalize, and trolls. The article is focusing on the criticisms that Ms.

Palmer (Breonna’s mother) is facing and a mix of some facts from the case as well as gaining

sympathy for the Black community.

12. Even though you might not be the target audience, what do you think this writer does

effectively in terms of biased rhetoric and spin/slant? What do they do well?

I think that the writer effectively angered the audience, no matter what their political

stance is. Republicans would be furious about how the author called Trump a stooge, probably

attack the author on Twitter to defend Trump and say equally degrading things. Neutral/centrists

would be able to point out both sides of the story and base their opinion on facts instead of mixed
factual/bias reporting such as this article. Meanwhile, leftists, such as the author and the

Wonkette community would agree that the police officers deserve worse than paid community

service, housing credits, and more. The leftist audience would side with the author in the

comments section with equal anger and frustration and share their opinions too. The writer

effectively incorporated his opinion into the article, the use of mixed information which is a

combination of factual reporting and news. This means that the author mixes real, genuine,

unbiased information with his own opinion which is incredibly misleading and a great disservice

to the audience.

____________________________________________________________________________

News source 2:​ InfoWars

Title of article: ​City Pays $12 Million to Family of Breonna Taylor

13. Who is the readership of this news source? What kind of audience do they have?

According to the media bias chart, ​InfoWars​ has a readership of nearly five million

people that consist of a right-leaning audience. On the chart, InfoWars is shown on the very

bottom quadrant which is red. Red symbolizes the least reliable news sources that include

propaganda, misleading information, as well as inaccurate or fabricated information. InfoWars is

not shown between Hyper-Partisan Right and Most Extreme Right, but directly under Most

Extreme Right. From here, I can make an educated guess that the audience/readership of the

news source, InfoWars is mostly, if not all, are politically biased right-leaning.
 14. What does the title of the article tell you about its bias or slant/twist? Does the title seem

like genuine, unbiased news? How so?

The title of the article, “City Pays $12 Million to Family of Breonna Taylor,” is unbiased.

It states the facts of the case which is that Taylor’s family was paid $12 million for the

settlement. The title does seem like genuine, unbiased news because it doesn’t insult or slander

the right or the left-leaning politically biased sides.

15. Make a list of the terms you see being used and create a general definition of HOW

THEY ARE BEING USED and what meaning they are conveying. Include an example of

the term in the article.

a. Example: ​Thug​- This is being used to describe the victim, even though he has no

criminal associations or past. It is being used to make it seem like he deserved

what happened to him because he was a bad or criminal person. It also seems to

be used as a derogatory way of referring to men of color, which we have seen in

many news stories as a way to support police brutality. “He was walking around

at night, dressed as a thug, and drew immediate suspicion” (Peters).

b. Although the news source is, according to the media bias chart, most extreme

right-leaning, there were no terms that were exaggerated, insulting, or used to

slant/twist the story in the ​InfoWars​ article. Neither side, left or right-leaning,

were attacked with specific terms, or in other words, sensationalism/emotionalism

was not very present in this article. Moreover, sensationalist language such as the

words: shocking, remarkable, explosive, showdown, warning, etc) were not used
 in the article. The article says what it wants to without bringing down either

politically biased side.

16. What kinds of images, if any, does this article feature? What do they do for the article as

a whole?

The only image featured in the article is that of Tamika Palmer and what I assume are the

rest of Taylor’s family and friends. Most everyone in the photo is sporting black face masks with

a print that reads, “Breonna Taylor” in all caps. I am sure that they are wearing this to show their

support for the case, as well as Breonna herself, and to help stop the spread of/keep themselves

safe from COVID-19.

Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, despite not wearing a mask that reads her daughter’s

name, was also wearing a face mask in the photo. Instead, she wore something bigger, which was

a white shirt with her daughter’s name in blue as well as a cartoon-esque portrait of Taylor. Ms.

Palmer is shown holding a microphone close to her face, eyes closed, and a crease between her

brows. I am assuming that she is crying or in tears. The image gives the audience a sense of pain

due to the loss of Ms. Palmer’s daughter. It is used to gain sympathy for her and provide yet

another way to bring awareness about the Taylor case. It doesn’t do much for the article as a

whole because it only talks about the case, the attention it has been receiving, as well as

information about the police.

 17. Who is interviewed in this article? Who is used as a source/witness? Does this

demonstrate additional bias? Does the use of this witness indicate that they are looking

for the truth or looking to further their specific stant/spin? Explain.

No one is interviewed in the article. Nothing is in quotes in terms of information coming

from another source. However, a source/witness could be the police as well as Lonita Baker, the

lawyer for Taylor and her family, or Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. I do believe that it

does demonstrate additional bias, but very subtly and kind of tactfully. The police are brought up

consistently throughout the article, and that shows the author’s support of the police, despite

bringing up Taylor’s family member. The author is trying to make it seem as though they are less

biased by supposedly including both sides of the story which can confuse the audience or

mislead them quite easily. The use of the witnesses does not indicate that they are looking for the

truth, but rather to further their specific stant/spin. That is the goal of the article, is it not? To

make the audience believe what you are saying?

The fact that the police are brought up consistently throughout the article even though

there is also information regarding people who are connected to Taylor, shows the author’s bias

that the police are wrongfully accused. This line proves this point further, “The lawsuit against

the city was filed by Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, who alleged that police used erroneous

information when they obtained a no-knock warrant to enter Taylor’s apartment” (InfoWars).

This is very subtle, but the author is saying that Palmer was making false accusations against the

police in regards to the “no-knock warrant to enter Taylor’s apartment” (InfoWars).

 18. Where/how do you see ethos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

Again, just to reiterate, ​Ethos​ is when the author is trying to appear trustworthy or

credible to the audience. The only parts of the article that utilize ethos are related to the case. For

example, the article says at the very beginning that “The U.S. city of Louisville, Kentucky, has

agreed to pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical technician who was

shot to death in her apartment in March during a “no-knock” police raid linked to a bungled drug

investigation” (InfoWars). These are all facts of the case. Furthermore, the article states that

there was a law passed named after Taylor “banning [the] use of no-knock warrants, which

police often use in drug cases for fear that evidence could be destroyed if they announce their

arrival” which is also true (InfoWars).

19. Where/how do you see logos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

Logos​ is the appeal to logic and reasoning. Most of the article seems to appeal to logos,

in the way that most of the article is not supplied with opinion more than factual information

such as the subheader which reads, “The U.S. city of Louisville, Kentucky, has agreed to pay

$12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical technician who was shot to death

in her apartment in March during a “no-knock” police raid linked to a bungled drug

investigation” (InfoWars). This line in itself summarizes what most of the article is about and

what went on during the case, kind of like a “What’s happening” type of thing. A more specific

example would be the fact that “Taylor’s death became a part of the national conversation”

(InfoWars). Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Lebron James, Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian,
Alicia Keys, Beyonce, and Lizzo have spoken about Taylor’s death (​courier journal​). They,

much like this article, are trying to bring more awareness about her death to charge the police

officers.

20. Where/how do you see pathos being used in this article? Be specific and give examples.

Pathos​ i​ s the appeal to emotions. The article does not utilize pathos very often in the

article. It is the appeal that is used the least. Most of the article seems to utilize logos, which is

very effective, however, there could be more use of ethos to prove its credibility or

trustworthiness.

21. What is the purpose of this article? What are they trying to convey about this situation?

The purpose of this article is not to anger the audience, but rather to inform them about

the case. I think this article is trying to convey the contents of the case and things related to it

such as the drug trafficking investigation as mentioned in the article: “The warrant leading to

Taylor’s death was one of five issued in a drug trafficking investigation of a former boyfriend of

Taylor’s, Jamarcus Glover, who was arrested at a different location about 16 kilometers away

from Taylor’s apartment on the same evening” (InfoWars). This can be proved further by the

research I did on the case from many different sources such as the New York Times, which is a

mostly neutral politically-biased source, according to the media bias chart.

 The article that I read from the New York Times about this same issue, regarding the

death of Breonna Taylor, did include her further information on her relationship with Glover and

confirms that this information, specifically the quote I mentioned above is correct. I think that

InfoWars is very subtly defending police officers even though they made a bad decision, which

was to take the life of Ms.Taylor away. They shot her eight times for crying out loud! She was

defenseless! She did absolutely nothing wrong. This line provides some context for my

argument: “The city had already passed a law named for Taylor banning use of no-knock

warrants, which ​police often use in drug cases for fear that evidence could be destroyed if

they announce their arrival​” (InfoWars). I feel like they are making excuses to cover up the

fact they took the life of a Black woman away. No matter the background of the person who

killed someone else, they should face the consequences.

They are making the Black community look bad by blaming them. The article stated that

“The lawsuit against the city was filed by Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, who alleged that

police used erroneous information when they obtained a no-knock warrant to enter Taylor’s

apartment. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were roused from bed by police, who said

they announced their presence outside the apartment before busting their way into the housing

unit. Walker says he never heard police” (InfoWars). The article is saying that Walker and

Palmer are wrong and that the police did the right thing.

Taylor was not roused from bed by the police, according to the New York Times. Many

sources say that Taylor was shot to death in her sleep. Also, if they had a warrant, wouldn’t

Taylor and Walker have known that the police would be coming? Why were they coming there
in the middle of the night? If the cops were returning fire after Walker fired once, why did they

fire eight times? Was that necessary?

22. How does the purpose of the article relate to the audience?

I do not think that the purpose of the article strongly relates to one audience in particular,

even though the news source itself, according to the media bias chart, is considered Most

Extreme Right. Going into the article and reading it I did expect it to be mostly opinionated like

the previous one I had read, but it turned out not to be. I think anyone from any side of political

bias could read this article.

23. What spin do you see going on? How is the writer trying to angle/slant the story? What is

the article focusing on?

The spin is not very apparent in this article, but it can be found in the way that Taylor’s

case is presented, which is in the right way. The author of the article stresses that the people

involved in the case were given fair treatment for their actions. For example, the article states

that “One of the three officers who fired the shots that killed Taylor has already been dismissed

from the city police department, although he is appealing his ouster” (InfoWars). The slant/angle

of the story is that everyone was given fair treatment as if money can make up for the loss of life.

The previous article from Wonkette did not agree that the case was treated in a good way and

this is proven further when he was insulting Trump, by calling him a stooge, and more.
 24. Even though you might not be the target audience, what do you think this writer does

effectively in terms of biased rhetoric and spin/slant? What do they do well?

Unlike the previous article that I read from Wonkette, the article from InfoWars is less

openly opinionated. InfoWars seemed to rely more on facts from the case and did not pull

information from other sources that only supported its narrative. However, they did not bring up

that other people disagreed with the settlements or final judgment of the case. Wonkette and its

readership did not agree that Taylor and her family got what they deserved. Even though

InfoWars has a bias of Most Extreme Right, people who are not aware or as informed about

media bias will be susceptible to believing the information that is presented to them. The writer

effectively created a more believable, or more credible argument and narrative than Wonkette.

By providing more facts than opinion, the writer can most definitely trick the audience.

____________________________________________________________________________

COMPARING AND ANALYZING

1. Did you notice any shared terms? If so, list them here and explain if and how they are

used in the same way or different. Explain and give examples.

a. Example:​ Brutality: ​In article 1, brutality was used only to refer to the behavior

of protestors and the victim’s family. They are portrayed as the ultimate criminals

who are deserving as even more violent: “The protestors’ brutality has kept the
 city on edge since his death” (Peters). In article 2, brutality is specifically used to

describe the murder itself and its connection to police power and gross abuse of

power. The act of murder itself is the brutality, not the response to it. “As another

act of obvious brutality by an officer, county officials have yet to make an official

announcement on their plans for some form of justice for his family” (Michaels).

b. In article 1 and article 2, there are no shared terms. However, ​protests​ are

mentioned in both articles. The difference is that Wonkette presents the protests

that have occurred as non-violent protests in the following line: “None of this

would’ve happened without the non-violent ​protests​ that kept the pressure on and

annoyed cops” (Robinson). InfoWars did not utilize the word protest. Instead,

they phrased it as street demonstrations. The following line includes the phrase:

“​Street demonstrations​, some of them violent, have erupted from coast to coast

since the late May death of a Black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in

Minneapolis, Minnesota” (InfoWars). Wonkette is wrong, and InfoWars is right

because some of the protests, or street demonstrations, were violent. Not all of the

protests/street demonstrations were non-violent like Wonkette said. Wonkette is

more opinion-based or rather, incorporates mixed information, while InfoWars is

more factual-based with very subtle opinions. Mixed information is the mixing of

facts with opinions or false information.

2. How would you describe the tones of the articles? What do they have in common? How

are they different? Why do you suppose this is?

 The tone of Wonkette’s article about the Taylor case is one of sarcasm and mockery,

while InfoWars is more logical and reasonable with its arguments or opinions. Wonkette is more

aggressive and straightforward with its opinions. It is made clear to the audience that the author

was/is not happy with the settlement for the Taylor case and that the officers and people involved

should be punished. In InfoWars, the tone is cool and mostly informative. The opinions are not

aggressive, but subtle. The one thing that the articles have in common is the subject of Breonna

Taylor.

3. Are you more inclined to believe/trust one of these articles over the other? Which one

and why?

I am more inclined to believe and trust ​InfoWars​ because it has a less opinionated-based

narrative. ​InfoWars​ is also less aggressive with sharing its opinions about the Taylor case in

comparison to ​Wonkette.​ ​InfoWars​ isn’t a very trustworthy news source to begin with, but it has

a more calm and collected tone in comparison to that of ​Wonkette.​ It also contained more factual

information than ​Wonkette​ who had more mixed information and pulled information from other

sources to support its narrative.

4. What are the benefits, if any, of reading a news story from two different perspectives?

The benefits of reading a news story are seeing different perspectives of the same story. It

expands your horizons and helps you to piece together an opinion of your own based on your

conclusions on both sides of the story. Reading the same or similar stories from different news
sources also show you how the media can twist information to do their bidding by tricking you.

All news sources want the audience to believe something. All writing serves a purpose and the

purpose of these two articles was to persuade you, the reader, to believe what they wanted. It

shows just how influential and important it is not to believe everything you read right away. It

shows that doing your research is very helpful and if anything, incredibly important for one to

establish their own beliefs and not have someone else do that for them.

5. What have you learned about how rhetoric works in the media? Be specific.

I have learned that rhetoric is extremely important and prominent in today’s society. It is

used to change the minds of many. For the worse or the better, I cannot say. However, I can say

that it has done more harm than good. There are so many problems in this world and that is due

to the media. An example of this would be the declining mental health of my generation and

many generations before me. Suicide, cyberbullying, and such are rampant because of the media

and its hand in spreading more misinformation than it spreads facts. It creates massive barriers

between all of us with the want to be correct, but what is truly right and just? That is different for

everyone and ultimately, it is the choices we make that define who we are as humanity. Media

bias has easily persuaded the minds of the more gullible population of people to believe the lies

they are telling and that is horrible for all of us. We need to be more educated about media bias,

its effects on our opinions and beliefs, and how it affects everyone as a whole to create a stronger

and more educated society.

6. What tips could you give others to help them identify bias in their news? What should

they look like? What should they avoid?

 To help others identify bias in their news, I recommend utilizing the media bias chart to

find more neutral sources so that their opinions/beliefs aren’t based on misinformation or

propaganda on the internet. I would also recommend comparing different sources as we did here

for this assignment. It is extremely helpful to establish your own opinions on things and seeing

the difference between different sources by comparing the information side by side. By looking

at two different sources telling the same story and finding another neutral source, you will be

able to identify the misinformation and create your own opinion from there. It is important to

avoid more opinionated sources as they usually are just propaganda and incorporating fake

information with facts or it is an entirely fabricated story.