Communications and Media

The Internet has continued to affect the way we perceive things in the day to day activities. This is particularly for those who will spend a lot of time digging for information about their area of interest and reading the analysis and the opinions of other people regarding a given topic of interest. I am eager to be knowledgeable about the political matters in the country and in particular take interest in the opinions of the other people that concern the political events in the country. The Internet media has always been there when needed for reference in matters that interest me most. I have been dependant on the readily available Internet material when it comes to political and other events that touch on political elites in the country. Being a life member of the Democratic Party, I have been interested in making follow ups when it comes to political matters that happen within and outside our Party. The developments that surrounded the once Vice Presidential nominee of the Republican Party and the ex-Alaskan Governor Miss Sarah Palin caught my interest as would have been expected. The Internet media has been responsible for cementing my unflattering opinion regarding Sarah Palin. There are several articles that have appeared over the Internet some of which are persuasive, objective or just an information piece regarding Miss Sarah Palin. However, the persuasion bit seems to have won my heart since despite reading the objective piece, I am not convinced to see a nice politician in Sarah Palin.

Sarahs Job at Fox News Channel
    The move by Palin to join the Fox News Channel has been pictured in different lights depending on the affiliation andor personal orientation of the different authors. Some have approached the issue with sobriety whereas others have let their personal emotions guide them in commenting on the issue. Nevertheless, the main focus has been on Sarah Palin and the Fox News Channel. The objective article has been written by David Sessions who brings to light the actual words and position of Sarah Palin in taking up her new job. On her debut week at the Fox News Channel, Sarah has categorically dismissed that her acceptance of the television job would not stop her from running for Presidency in 2012. She is quoted as saying

You know Im not going to close my doors for my future, for my familys future -- dont know whats in the future, what it holds, but between now and whenever a big decision has to be made, Im gonna do all that I can to help our country get back on the right track, and thats to get a message out there about solutions that I believe and a whole lot of Americans believe need to be plugged in (Sessions, 2010 Para 2).

The writer goes further to give the opinion of other individuals regarding Palins debut at Fox News. Glenn Beck views Palin as the most guarded woman he has ever laid his eyes on and therefore is of the opinion that she is not fit to run for the Presidency. He is convinced that Sarah would not run for the Presidency in 2012 (Sessions, 2010). There is a lot of objectivity in this article as the facts are reported without adding or altering a word.

    On the other hand, persuasive news article has been designed in such a way that the writer wants to win your backing in his or her analysis of the situation. Regarding Sarah Palins new job, an article by Brad Friedman sums it all. In this article, those who are anti-Republicans can really enjoy the content. The content is specifically designed to discredit Palin and her new employers. The writer is sarcastic of the two and further to expose who is who at the Fox News Channel. He ridicules Sarah referring to her as the failed Vice-presidential candidate and calling the announcement of the new job as a gig. Sarcastically, he lists the names of the individuals at the Fox News Channel who happen to be all Republicans, some with questionable backgrounds. He talks of Dick Morris as the former prostitute patron and toe sucker (Friedman, 2010 Para 3). The Fox News Channel has not been left out in his criticism. The motto that the News Channel provides balanced and fair news has highly been criticized by Friedman. He says, On Fox, if you say it, its true. Even if its made up of thin air. So fair and balanced news it is (Para 4). The author is also critical of Palins habit of changing jobs andor responsibilities and talks of the possibilities that she might not complete the year with Fox News Channel. However, he is quick to rescind and argue that Palin has gotten her dream job and might not quit soon as expected by many. At Fox, the writer argues that Sarah has just gone for the free money for speaking any information that needs not to be verified (Friedman, 2010). This persuasive article has indeed tried to discredit Palin in all quotas including her employers who are delighted at having her services. There is nothing positive that has been said of the two as the article has dwelt much on criticism in an effort to divulge the negativity of associating with Palin and her accomplices.

    The persuasive news article as described above has nothing to celebrate about Sarah Palin. It is clear that the authors intention was to wade off any support for Palin that could have come from the sympathizers of the ex-Alaskan Governor. He has also portrayed the Republicans in bad light especially those associated with the Fox News Channel and has gone further to question the credibility of the news at Fox (Friedman, 2010). On the other hand, the information piece article serves double standards as indicated in the article that was written by Ed Pilkington who writes for The Guardian in New York. The author starts by projecting Palin as an achiever who is ready to take the stardom platform. Sarahs achievements are highlighted before being crowned with the latest crown of being a political commentator for the Fox News Channel. The writer notes Sarah Palin has demonstrated considerable star potential, from her appearances on Saturday Night Live to her bestselling memoir and undisputed status as darling of the Republican Angry crowdto those accolades, must now be added a new badge(Pilkington, 2010 Para 1).

The author continues to argue that the deal will offer Palin with an invaluable TV platform where she will have an opportune time to bond with millions of potential voters. Sarahs deal with the Fox News Channel has been regarded by the author as an extension of sympathy she was accorded by the same channel during interviews at the time of previous elections. Some of her supporters have been exposed as figureheads at the Fox News Channel. Fox and Palin have been described as champions of tea party movement and she posed to host the first national tea party convention to be held at Nashville. Palin is expected to host occasional programs examining what has been referred to as inspirational tales that revolve around ordinary Americans (Pilkington, 2010). In this article therefore, the writer has observed some objectivity but has also exposed Palin in bad light but with a light touch. The main difference between the persuasive article and the information piece can be observed in the tones of the writers and the varying radical approaches that have been used by the two contrasting writers. The persuasive article was more authoritarian and radical in criticizing Palin whereas the information piece was rather soft and less radical in criticizing Palin. In fact, the information piece has offered no direct criticism to Palin but only exposed what can be criticized by her opponents.

The persuasive techniques that have been employed by these articles include the tone, use of particular vocabulary, and the perceived needs of the readers. Persuasion generally involves the creation of a need or appealing a previously existing need (Wagner, 2010). The writers are well aware of the publics interest in Sarah Palins political career and therefore the need to write about her is generated especially when her activities are leaning towards the political arena. The association of Palin with the Fox News Channel has been viewed by many as a political strategy in preparation for the 2012 comeback. Persuasion has also been known to be influenced by the use of loaded words (Wagner, 2010). The use of words that have carefully been chosen to criticize Palin especially in the persuasive article described above was a technique that was specifically employed by the writer to win support for his argument. The writers therefore use different techniques to drive their point home when they intend to capture the mood of their readers. The article that seems more effective amongst those discussed above is the one carrying the information piece because the author was somehow objective but he did provide an indirect critique to Sarah Palin unlike the persuasive article that dwelt much on the criticism without giving objective analysis of the scenario. This exposed his personal feeling towards Palin instead of focusing on exposing her without being too emotional in his article. This can easily lead to sympathetic support for Palin whereas the intention was to persuade more people to be on his side and against Palin.

Persuasion by the media is here to stay no matter what illusions we have to the contrary. The media has become a key determinant in shaping our likes and dislikes in almost all aspects of life. This usually happens since we are all dependant on the news in the media to be informed of what is going on around us. However, being dependant on the media can lead us into making wrong decisions based on false analysis of the facts. To protect ourselves from such vulnerabilities of falling victims of persuasion by media professionals we need to be keen in looking for objectivity in any given piece of news before making final judgment over an issue. To ensure that this happens, we need to read widely from different writers over the same issue to unravel and gauge the objective article analysis. This is the only way we can come up with sound judgment concerning an issue.