"Stop Relying on Bloggers for News" Article Response

Summary
          The article, Stop Relying on Bloggers for News, explains how that for a long time going back to the 1960's journalists had been the most reliable source from which Americans receive inforamtion on the outside world. Walter Cronkite, was titled the "most trusted man in America" due to his faithful coverage on controversial issues like the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. After his death in 2009, polls have been conducted to see which newscaster was worthy of succeeding Cronkite's title. Out of Katie Couric, John Stewart, Brian Williams, and Charlie Gibson, Jon Stewart was named the "most trusted newscaster in America". Shockingly so, John Stewart a showman, comedian, television writer, and actor was made the more credible than actual news reporters such as the other candidates. By this being the result of the poll, Americans came to the realization that non-reporters are more trusted than trained journalists.
          Certain news are fit for conservatives, and certain one are fit for liberals, but for those who do not fit in neither conservative nor liberal, it could hard to find the right news source. This can be especially hard for youth, who nowadays just find someone with some type of technological device who feel the need to give their two cents on a topic in a blog. It is often looked over that journalists must be trained and meet certain standards in order to write on a topic and deliver it to the world, however bloggers do not. Bloggers have the ability to be objective and take on any point of view, while journalists need to leave room for readers to form their own opinion on the matter. This point is often overlookes, but should be examined by every reader when considering the credibility of his or her source.

Use of Rhetorical Strategies

          The author of Stop Relying on Bloggers for News, uses a variety of rhetorical strategies. He or she uses the Aristotelian appeals, especially ethos and logos. By providing background on Walter Cronkite and how polls were conducted to find who would take his place as the "most trusted man in America", the author buils upon his or her own credibility in the argument. Also by giving insight on how journalists in the past were considered the most reliable source from which people received their information but were placed in a category of distrust, the reader is made to think on how they now look to other possibly unreliable places for knowlegde on the happenings of society. The author's employment of rhetorical questions brings forth a critical tone, as he or she appeals to logic, as it can easily be realized that the subject of the question is evidently true.

My Opinion
          I found this article to be quite interesting compared to other articles concerning the media. I also found the article to be quite true. I, when looking for more detail concerning an issue, find myself ending up on a blog reading and believing what my eyes see. Also, I see that nowadays other comedians, TV personalities, to even common folk, have rose to the top of people's credibility scale when giving the dirt on events and topics in pop culture. Us youth especially. We don't think to go to the local news or our information. We're too quick to search on google and find the first link that pops up, never thinking of the information os valid or not. Why? I honestly am not sure, but I do know that I will be more careful of where and who I get my information from.

Teen Have Better Behavior Than Their Parents?

Summary
          This article pretty much brings forth the point of how teenagers nowadays have grown to become more conservative than their parents in their teenage years. This generation of teens experiment with alcohol, sex, and illegal drugs far less than their parents did when they were teenagers. Since 1980, teenagers use of alcohol dropped from 72% to 40%. From 1988 to 2010, boys who had had sex went from 50% to 28%, and for girls it went from 37.2% to 27%. In 1981, 43% of teenagers smoked pot, and now today, just 25%. One reason this is so is because there are a lot more ways for parents to monitor their children, such as parental control on TVs and computers, and print-outs of cell phone calls and text messages. There is also teenagers' fear of acquiring HIV and other possible health dangers of sex, alcohol and drugs. However, teens who do decide to become rebellious of their parents have a variety of TV shows that influence their behavior. 

Use of Rhetorical Strategies
          The author, Tara Parker-Pope, utilizes the Aristotelian appeals a great deal in this article. She appeals to ethos more than anything. By citing the sources of her information quite a lot (almost in every paragraph), like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, Parker-Pope brings more truth to her information. Also, by including examples of TV shows that highly impact the behavior of teenagers today, the author forces readers to think about how teens have access to such influences. Most teenagers are well aware of TV series like "Teen Mom" and "Gossip Girl", as well as most of the world. Such behavior protrayed on those shows are glorified all over the media, giving teens the impression that such actions have good consequences more than bad.

My Opinion
          I couldn't agree with this article more. Hearing stories from my mother's high schools days, and her telling me how this person and that person got pregnant, I realize that teens from back in the days did engage in sexual activities. This also goes for the use of alcohol and drugs. Now, by living in the generation I live in today, I see that there are lot of teens doing the same. Also, I know that there are teens, like myself, who are aware of certain dangers of having sex and using drugs and alcohol. There are also teens like myself, who are too much afraid and reverent of their parents...and God to participate in such activities.