Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

A Magazine's Stories

Magazines are very informative about news, trends, fads, and what the future might bring for certain subjects such as clothes, consumer goods, and so on. I looked at TIME Magazine and National Review Magazine for some articles that exhibited some form of debate or argument, or even controversy. This post will break down the main points within two articles that were reported in the two magazines. 

Source #1: TIME Magazine

Story: Company at Center of Drug Price Storm Cuts Cost of Medicine by Reuters via NBC (via TIME)

The argument is about whether or not the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli, should lower the price of a life saving drug which he increased the cost by 5,000%. The pill, medicine known as Daraprim which treats toxoplasmosis encephalitis, has been around for 62 years and costed $13.50, but now costs $750 a pill ever since Shkreli's company obtained the rights to the drug in September of 2015. He now sparked an outrage about the price for the medicine, but has since then said he will drop the price 50%, making it $350 a pill. In Europe, the pill can be bought for under $1.

The most sympathetic characters in the story is hidden from view, but can be known as the patients and hospitals that need the drug. They are involved because now it costs more to have access to a pill that can save lives. I feel sympathetic towards them because they could affordably receive the treatment they needed, but now the majority of a paycheck will be lost to one pill for treatment.

The least sympathetic character is the CEO, Martin Shkreli. He is involved because he rose the price of a drug 5,000%. I cannot sympathize with them because he is just trying to make more money off of a popular drug. It's a business to him, not a good samaritan gesture.

Lazorkin, Konstantin. "Drugs" December 24, 2007 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. 

Source #2: National Review Magazine

Story: Feminist Internet: Citing Studies Linking Obesity to Health Problems Is 'Oppressive' by Katherine Timpf

In this article, the debate is about whether or not people should be allowed to use "oppressive" phrases such as "I'm just concerned about their health" and other phrases because they are apparently directed at larger women only. Feminists members, such as Melissa A. Fabello and Linda Bacon, are tired of hearing these phrases directed at women and call for a change in the way people word their ideas about women's health. All over the country, women are feeling hurt and oppressed because of this language that is being used "against them".

Honestly, there is no sympathetic character in this story. The characters in the story, such as Melissa and Linda feel as if women are being oppressed when people are just clearly worried about the individual's health. There is no sympathy for those who take worry the wrong way.

I feel like the least sympathetic characters are the feminists who believe they are being targeted and oppressed. They are the people who think certain phrases are "oppressive" when they are not. If they have a health issue, such as obesity, they think others talking about it is oppressive. They are only being looked out for which is why I cannot sympathize with them unfortunately.

Twitter and What I Found There

Twitter and the Medical Field

Twitter is a social media source that can relay news and other information onto users. I searched multiple phrases such as "Twitter Physiology" and "Twitter Plastic Surgery" since these are the disciplines I currently and apart of. This allows me to read the Twitter feeds and see what people are saying about my major or jobs within my major that people frequently try to apply to. 

Twitter Accounts Used: @ASPS_News and @PSChannel

People on Twitter seem to be talking about the different types of plastic surgeries people can get. There is a lot of discussion about the benefits of breast implants, tummy tucks, face lifts, and other cosmetic procedures. There also is a lot of talk about the "fake" parts of people due to plastic surgery.  There seems to be a lot of talk about celebrities who are opening up about their plastic surgery too. For example, Khloe Kardashian opened up about all of the plastic surgery she received and how she feels more beautiful than before.

In my opinion, the first most interesting conversation/story I found was about when is it considered too young to get plastic surgery to avoid bullying. I chose this because changing oneself and their own image is not the answer to bullying. Plastic surgery is not the path to take to make your life better in that sense. The link is as follows: http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/teen-plastic-surgery/ via @PSchannel (Twitter). The next most interesting story I found was about the first successful hand transplant that was done in Toronto, Canada. I found this interesting because this type of success story will lead to more successful stories within the plastic surgery field. Something like a hand transplant will give hope to plastic surgeons and their patients to successfully do procedures just like this one. This is the link to the story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-doctors-peform-first-successful-hand-transplant-1.3400292 via @PSChannel (Twitter).

I see a huge population of people who want to look younger and better than ever based on what I have seen in my discipline. I get the impression of my discipline being a "hero" type of field to be a part of. I did not anticipate the Twitter feed to be talking about teens getting plastic surgery. However, I did expect the majority of topics I saw, such as benefits, success stories, and so on.

Mutter, James. "In the O.R. with Dr. Vishal Kapoor, Photo  of Mini Facelift Surgery" October 11, 2009 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

The New York Times Reports

The New York Times has multiple sections within its news that readers can search and become acquainted with. This post is about two separate stories that the New York Times reported. Each of the stories deals with some type of controversy. 

Story #1: Lawsuits Claim Disney Colluded to Replace U.S. Workers With Immigrants by Julia Preston

In this story, the main characters are Mr. Leo Perrero and Ms. Dena Moore. They are the center of the story because they were both laid off by the famous entertainment company, Disney, and replaced by immigrant workers to do their jobs. Despite their high performance ratings, they were not rehired and have now filed lawsuits against the company and two of its partners, HCL and Cognizant.

This specific event takes place in the United States on the east coast. The main setting for this event is in Florida where the Disney amusement park is located. The Disney park is a tourist hot spot for visitors from around the globe and is where many people come to work to create a safe, fun, and entertaining destination within our country.

The major disagreement is between Disney and the two workers that were laid off. They disagree on the issue that Disney conspired to have these workers train immigrants who would then take their jobs and leave the former Disney workers unemployed. Leo Perrero, Dena Moore, Disney, HCL, Cognizant, and the Tampa Court are the major participants in this controversy. The debate is whether or not Disney was at fault for laying off workers to hire immigrants for cheaper pay.

Lee, Peter. "Jedi Mickey vs. Darth Gonzo" July 1, 2009 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

Story #2: Donald Trump Means Business in Iowa: Night in Motel, and a Day in Church by Maggie Haberman

In this story, the main character is Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a famous real estate businessman who is currently running for the 2016 Presidential Election. He is the center of the story because he spent a night in a motel (unlike a normal Trump) and spent the day in a church in Iowa talking to local residents.

These specific events take place in Muscatine, Iowa in a Holiday Inn Express and at a local church. These settings are not typical settings for Donald Trump to be present in. He wants to win Iowa, so he decided to be a "middle-class" American for a day to show his aggression in wanting to win the state. He attended a service and learned about humility in church and spent the night in a normal room at the Holiday Inn Express.

There is no debate or disagreement in this particular story. However, one might debate whether or not Trump really cared about being in that church, or if he really wanted to stay in that room at the Holiday Inn Express.

Course Projects

The Four Major Projects in English 109H for Spring 2016 

1. What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?

• I am not confused about any of the projects in general. I am mostly just nervous about approaching the projects. I am nervous to come up with a postmortem about something in my major (Physiology) because I do not know a lot of controversies in the medical field thus far. Other than that, I am not nervous about anything else. 

2. What are you most interested in or excited by in regards to the four major projects?

• I am mostly excited about the Reflective Self-Assessment out of the four major projects. I say this because I want to discover how far I've come from the start of this course to the end of this course. I want to see how many new friends I made in class, what I have learned in terms of using new media platforms and different genres, and if I have improved my academic skills and time management since the start of the semester. 

3. Based on your understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?

• I will have to plan out the steps I will take to attack these projects. This means I will have to devote a certain amount of time to the projects so that I can build my projects using steps and maintain good time management. I will also have to set up and schedule my interviews for the Rhetorical Investigation project. I will have to plan ahead when I plan on renting the different media devices the school has to offer. The coursework for this semester in this class will challenge my time management skills by testing me on my autonomy of getting the work done every Sunday by 11:59pm. 

4. How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?

• My past English coursework in high school has done a good job in preparing me for this course. For example, we had major research projects and papers that were similar to this course in terms of time management and deadlines that would eventually turn into a final masterpiece. In this course, I will bring with me my effort, vocabulary skills, media knowledge, and so on that will help me tackle these four major projects. 

5. Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?

• I do not have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets.

Reflection:

I learned that many of my classmates share the same emotions regarding the projects and modules we have to complete this semester. Most of us are nervous or scared for the four major projects and using new genres we have never used before. A lot of us are in agreement about planning ahead and challenging our time management skills during the semester. This all made me feel relieved because I did not want to be the only one who felt nervous about the course and the work it would require. I realized that we are all in the same boat though. Now, I think it will be easier for me to approach this course since I know my other classmates feel the same towards the course. 

Comment on Jack's blog: http://jauslen109h.blogspot.com/2016/01/course-projects.html?showComment=1453506479048#c5169019516033600179

Comment on Emily's blog: http://emilysutton97.blogspot.com/2016/01/course-projects.html?showComment=1453508144632#c6273651068492119870

Investigating Genres

Genre chosen: Video Essay

1. What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

• Video Essays are used to present and analyze information researched on a certain subject of interest that can be visually displayed for viewers to watch and learn from. This format allows people to explore English composition in a different way other than reading tons of text over the course of numerous pages. The essay is "brought to life" by visually showing and connecting the topic with video clips and other video platforms that can be formed into one video and be presented to others. 

     2. Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

• It is not actually readers that will find this genre. It is the "viewers" that will explore this genre. Viewers can find this genre on almost any video/film source available to the public. It can be sources such as YouTube, Google Video, a news page, etc. 

     3. Who is the typical audience for this genre?

• The audience for a video essay would be viewers that want to explore a topic or discussion on a certain subject in a visual form while still listening to a dictation. These can be students, professors, employees in a business, and so on. The audience will be viewers who can engage themselves, possibly even connect, with what they are viewing and hearing about a certain subject. 

     4. What are some the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distinguishing it  from other texts?

• The visual media platform is a key feature to this genre that makes it unique. It is not like other genres where the work is displayed in text format and the individual has to read from left to right for pages and pages. Rather, the video essay is a video that people can watch but also hear the information being presented as well.

     5. Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for this genre.

• Video Essay: a work that is done using a visual (movie) format to present and analyze information about a certain subject.

Reflection:

I commented on Tim Wils's blog and Emily Bond's blog. I learned that a podcast is an opinionated and factual form of media that is audio-exclusive. I also learned that they are extremely simple and informal. I felt very informed about podcasts because as I told Tim in a post, I did not consider podcasts as something I would use. In Emily's post, I learned that quick reference guides are short news articles about contemporary subjects. I did not know what a reference blog was, so again I felt informed by her blog. From the two blogs, I feel that since I read the information about new genres in English, I will be better prepared for the major projects when it comes to choosing my genre. To be honest, I'm excited to do a podcast.

Comment on Tim's blog: http://www.timwilsenglish109h.blogspot.com/2016/01/investigating-genres.html#comment-form
Comment on Emily's blog: http://emily109h.blogspot.com/2016/01/investigating-genres.html?showComment=1453412120801#c1253825181029633343 

Calendar Reflection

Based off of my schedule with classes, eating, sleeping, and doing my recreational activities, I figured out that I will have a perfect amount of time for completing my homework in all of my classes. Everyday I have about 2-4 classes that range from 11am to 2pm. I wake up around 10 every morning and get dressed then go to my classes. After my classes, I come straight back to my apartment and work on my homework first thing. I usually can get my homework done by 5-6pm which allows me to have free time from then on. I include eating my meals in between my classes and during my free time in the evenings. Therefore, I eat, go to class, and get my work done in a timely matter everyday so I do not become stressed or frustrated and still manage to have free time in the evenings. During my work time, I will still be able to work on the required 6 hours of English 109H homework a week.

My Writing Process

1. What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

• Honestly, I consider myself to be either a "Heavy Reviser" or a "Sequential Composer". I say the two because I tend to write out my ideas (my brainstorming) out on a sheet of paper. I then follow those ideas in the order that I feel is best for my composition. I also write everything out so I can look back incase I forget an idea and to avoid frustration. 

    2. Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?

• I do think my writing process includes several of the above approaches. As said in question 1, I consider myself to be a "Heavy Reviser" or a "Sequential Composer". However, there are times where I tend to procrastinate, as we all do, because I feel like I can write better in one sitting. If it is a major paper for a huge part of my grade, such as a final for a class, then you can count on me being a "Heavy Planner". 

     3. Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of        your approach?

• My writing approach does seem to be successful. Overall, I tend to receive excellent grades on papers and assignments involving writing. In my opinion, my strengths come into play in the content portion of my papers. My weaknesses tend to appear in the "too much detail" or too much information topic when it comes to writing. 

     4. Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

• I do not think it would be beneficial for me to change my approach to writing. I say that because I have done so well on my papers throughout my writing career that I do not want to make a mistake now. That being said, I could always try a different approach alongside my current approach. Once I am accustomed to a certain way of doing things, I tend to stick with it.

McPhee, Nick. "2008-01-26 (Editing a paper) - 15" January 26, 2008 via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License