Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis “The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless” was written by David T. Z. Mindich was former assignment editor at CNN, has placed his roots back into the show era, and published in Spring of 2005 as an article in a magazine, Wilson Quarterly. Mindich’s article spoke about the decline of reading newspapers and watching the news and his reasons behind this conclusion. He used his article to inform and educated his audience. He claimed that if people become more informed about the world around them that they will be able to make better choices about who and what they vote for and therefore the people will have more control. Mindich shows that ethos, pathos; through his audience about the collapse of the newspaper and generation is losing interest in the news. David T. Z. Mindich is currently a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Michael‟s College in Colchester, Vermont. Due to his past experience with CNN he has a lot of experience with what goes on in the news world and this qualifies him to write about this topic, the decline or collapse of the media. “The Young and the Restless” draws the attention of a specific audience. They are those who viewed the popular soap opera called, “The Young and the Restless” in the 1970s and 1980s, or those who are in their 50s and 60s age range today. He also refers to time specific events that generation would be familiar with such as the Cold War and newscasters that they would know, like Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings. He mentions this age group as the “median age of network television news viewers” (Mindich 174). He is speaking to those people. The author is appealing to the readers mainly through their logic and emotion. Though, he does appeal to them through ethics as well. To appeal to the logos part of the readers he uses many statistics to help them see how big the collapse in media or news viewing really was. Almost three-quarters of the age of 34-37 year olds read the newspaper in 1972.Today only a third of people that age read the newspaper daily. The capability of parents to monitoring what their children are watching has decreased. Mindich has states that, “in 1970, six percent of all sixth graders had TVs in their bedrooms; today that number is an astonishing 77 percent. If you are in sixth grade and sitting alone in your bedroom, you’re probably not watching Peter Jennings”. Between 1944 and 2001, news and politics that interest young people had changed greatly, and when major events occurred, such as the Vietnam War and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, draws interests from young people. Mindich shows how extensive this lack and declined in civic involvement through the news is when he discusses a survey conducted in 2004 during the presidential elections in which people were asked the question, “Do you happen to know which of the presidential candidates served as an army general?” “42 percent of the over-50 crowd could name Wesley Clark. Only 13 percent of those under 30 could.” (Mindich 127).” The author makes his readers or audiences feel (pathos) bad for the editors and publishers in the media because of the declining trends: “When they aren’t reassuring themselves, editors and publishers are lying awake at night thinking about the dismaying trends of recent decades” (Mindich 174). By this he brings them back to their past experiences and emotions by remembering events from their pasts such as Walter Cronkite’s news report on the Vietnam War in February 1968 that “shook the nation” (Mindich 175) and captivated his audience. Those who heard that news report would remember exactly how that particular report influenced their lives and realize that not watching the news does leave one in the dark. He really draws them in through emotions by explaining that if we no longer need mainstream news media then we are losing what they have to offer. Through the media we get to see various points of view on world issues. We get to weigh the options presented and make educated decisions based on what we have learned. Mindich has similar concerns regarding the television news viewer ship. In the past, the news was of the most interest among the people who had TV’s in their household. That’s not the same trend anymore. It is then assumable that many of the modern era people might be getting the news from the internet. However, in a survey, only about 18 percent of Americans post their primary news source as online according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. And it is suggested that if someone is not in agreement with the above research, they only need to wander into a computer lab at the local college, high school, or libraries to see what the students have on their screen. The author is convincing the audience his creditability source that is worth listening (ethos). Mindich used a lot of research and statistics to get his point across to his audience. He used startling facts that compare the public interest of the 1970’s right after Vietnam, and to public interests of now. With the statistics that are provided, it helped play a powerful portion of the article achieve its point. One such statistic is that, “in 1972, nearly half of 18-22 year old read a newspaper every day. According to research conducted by Wollfram Peiser, a scholar who studies newspaper readership. Today, less than a quarter do“(Mindich 174). The author wants the audience to become more informed in political news, and gives some ideas as to how it can incorporate that in with our family life. With the decline in the news audience it is a cultural crisis. The state of news is how we obtain an interesting place. Many news executives see the change in the number of people who watch, and read the news, and are scared. The author also says that the news industry is relying on the home, that one day the kids will hopefully comeback around. If the cut in the news audience continues, who will knows where we can get our information from. If we make change something slightly, and try not to become so worried with reality television and other things, than we could still perhaps have a staring place of reliable and informational news later on. The author has both strengths and weaknesses. Mindich makes an excellent point throughout his essay, one with which many people would agree, majority of his argument is well reasoned and well worded. Some of his greatest strengths are the statistics he uses. He presents a picture of the past to help the reader to see how things truly compare to the present. He talks about up events that happened throughout time that has impacted our nation and the world in very huge ways. With this it really helps the readers to bond and picture how the downfall in the media can really affect the world. On the other hand his weakness is his inability to connect with young readers. It is the young adults that are the problem and yet he is writing to the generation that already watches and/or reads the news regularly. This is ineffective since his purpose is to increase awareness of the importance of the news and get people to begin taking interest in the news and media so that they can make more informed choices. The degrading health of news media is a threat to political life itself. In the modern democratic era, majority of Americans, young and old have little interaction with mainstream news media that are building blocks democratic society. Mindich assures that from a collective effort of reporters, editors, producers, and media business executives will change the fate of the American democracy about the value and necessity of vigorous news media.

Works Cited
Mindich, David T. Z. "The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless." Comp. Lester Faigley. Backpack Writing. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008. 174-78. Print.

Cited: Mindich, David T. Z. "The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless." Comp. Lester Faigley. Backpack Writing. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008. 174-78. Print.