Homework Assignment

Inspired by the BBC website we looked at during class today, I have chosen to analyze the homepage of the New York Times. The New York Times is a very well-established and reputable newspaper not only in the US but also in Europe and in the rest of the world.
The newspaper itself is owned by the New York Times Company (www.nytco.com) and their board of executive officers and publishing directors. The news articles, editorials, and comments are written by various newspaper journalists around the world. As the New York Times is a high-quality paper, they boost the finest global news coverage presented by a set of articulate journalists.
Furthermore, the webpage is very well-structured and organized featuring not only American news but also providing the globally aware reading public with news coverage from the EU, Asia, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Another thing I have noticed from browsing around the website is that readers get constantly updated on the latest news and that journalists affiliated with the New York Times, from all over the globe publish articles and comments on this site.
Besides the traditional topics, such as business and technology news and updates on politics the site offers many other interesting categories. Among other things, the New York Times gives the reader a sound variety of featured pages containing information on travel, art, real estate, health and style. Additionally, there are also customer services, for instance “Direct Delivery” meaning you can order your own issue of the New York Times to your house.
Talking about potential audiences, the New York Times particularly targets business people and a well-educated public with a sound interest in global affairs. People reading this newspaper actually have to read the respective articles to be informed as there are hardly no eye-catching, tabloid-like headlines. As the New York Times is an extremely reputable newspaper the tone and language used on the website and in the printed version is very sophisticated. Words are properly chosen in order to inform the reader in a precise manner.
Considering the rhetorical appeals discussed in class, the webpage focuses more on logos and logos, i.e. the exhibition of good and valid reasoning and well-researched news coverage. The use of pathos is very limited with only a few selected pictures and videos and pod casts made available.

Blog Analysis

I have chosen Justin's blog. He seems to like visual effects and different colors on a black background which is on the one hand pretty unique idea and at the same time very good to read. He is also consistently using the same colors red,blue, and green, each representing a different category on his blog. I like his idea of using a solid color background, however, the font could be a little bigger to stand out from the black background AND it is easier to read too. Likewise Justin's blog is very organized and his blog posts on various topics are very interesting and insightful at the same time. What I liked the most, was the posting of song lyrics on his blog and posting a picture of a band he likes. Interested in the song and the band, I googled it and listened to the song myself. He obviously likes the song and wants to share his favorite music with the class which I think is cool.

Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue"

The rhetorical triangle talks about the interconnection between the author/writer, the respective target audiences and the purpose he or she is writing for.
Amy Tan, a first generation Asian-American is the author of the essay “Mother Tongue”. In her essay she writes about her mother’s limited command of English, the way this is perceived by outsiders and the impact it had on her growing up. The audience she addresses is her mother who has been reading all her drafts in the past. However, I believe she addresses a far broader audience with this particular essay – all first generation-Americans with emigrant parents. Why – because she illustrates many examples in which children of these parents, like her, have to handle certain daily situations. With her essay Amy Tan wants to serve two purposes. First, she tries to make people aware of the daily struggles emigrants have to face. Due to their apparent lack of expressive command of English, they are not taken seriously, people pretend not to understand them or they simply ignore them. Secondly, she says it is ok to have and speak certain “Englishes” with different people. Namely that the English that you speak with your instructor differs from the English you speak with your friends.

Weekend - FINALLY

Oh Man, thank God it's Friday and the weekend is here.....
Y'all have a great Weekend!!!!!!!

What is a blog for me?

My experience with blogs is very limited. I have heard this expression before but I did not really know what it meant. After reading through the given material I was able to get a better grasp on the subject.
Personally, I thing a blog is a kind of bulletin board in the traditional meaning, just applied to the virtual world of the Internet. Thus, I consider a blog to be a personal platform to share and discuss matters of relevance, express your emotions and opinions on certain topics and finally it seems to be also a handy method to self-display yourself. There are various ways to self-display you. For instance you can upload pictures and songs, and sometimes even create your own slideshows and videos. Some potential examples of more trivial or common blogs would be facebook.com or myspace.com. Additionally, a blog can also feature discussion forums on different topics ranging from general topics to more controversial ones. Finally, I believe a blog can even be a great tool to stay in touch with friends and family. One of my female friends in Germany created her own travel blog which she is using while traveling around the world to continuously update her friends and family about the latest news and adventures on her various trips. While for her this blog is more of a personal journal in order to keep precious traveling memories alive and visual, we, her friends always receive the latest news and can comment on her entries.
Summarizing my thoughts on web blogs, I must say that when used appropriately they can be a very beneficial tool for communication and exchange of dialog.

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