The Syrian Chemical Attack

September 11, 2001 (herein referred to as 9/11) was a day in American history, which will be remembered as the most horrific attack on American soil. This attack, carried out by nineteen Islamic extremists, was associated with al-Qaeda, and involved the hijacking of four airplanes. Two of those airplanes were hijacked and flown directly into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The third plane’s target was the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the fourth plane was brought down in Pennsylvania where it is believed the passengers aboard fought the hijackers. This horrific day in history cost over 3,000 people their lives, and was labeled the worst attack on American soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

Many people’s lives have been forever changed because of the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001. Authors of narrative writing often use historical content as their basis for their writing. Regardless on what type of writing; the facts remain true to the event. To elaborate, these two authors have chosen to write historical content on the traumatizing event that happened on September11,2001, which both develop a similar theme.

What makes you want to watch the news? Is it the credibility and trustworthiness of the reporter, the emotion the story holds, or the logic and evidence the channel you are watching uses to get their point across? No matter what news channel you are watching, the reason you are watching is probably one the three listed above. These three things are actually all connected in a triangle called the “Rhetorical Situation”, where each is equally important and used in argument enhancement. The goal of my paper is to is to explain how, why, and when news channels like CNN, MSN, and FOX NEWS, use the three modes of persuasion to sell an argument.

Now I realise it seems a bit hypocritical of me to attack the media’s representation of a news event when I myself am a part of the hype-generating circus we call mass media. However, the voice of my wise, high-school English teacher echoes in my subconscious that we should always be critical of the texts we consume and conscious of the

The final video, “Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening”, was the most entertaining and provided the best demonstration of the use of rhetorical strategies in our daily news. We see commonplace activities being put in the news, and the use of certain words, objects or people to elicit a response or persuade the viewer to see the situation in a particular light. This final video showcases

Media has an increasing part in public life, provoking emotions and swaying opinions. The power of the media is played out using language which is specially designed to persuade; But it is through rhetoric; ethos, pathos and logos (especially logos and ethos) that it tries to earn some credibility. Webster’s meaning for ‘Rhetoric’ is the art of speaking or writing effectively. Considering this, the tools of rhetoric- ethos, pathos and logos can be seen in the media coverage surrounding the events of 9/11, the Vietnam War and the Beaconsfield Mine disaster. The media at the time of 9/11 swamped the masses and portrayed ethos, persuading the viewers of an American unity, that could not be crushed, no matter how evil the attack.

As an academic, one becomes increasingly aware of the biases in others’ writing. It becomes engrained - to dissect the author’s worldview and biases in order to best determine how those things are affecting their writing. This dissection is all the more important when it comes to journalism. In current times, it is not just the academics that are concerned about biases. The average populous has become increasingly aware that the information that mass media attempts to feed them can be biased beyond belief. The coverage of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail showcases the differences in how a singular event can be reported in very different ways beautifully.

Rhetoric is also used to a stunning effect. The usage of words such as “angry” “poor” and “violently” subtly tries to appeal to the

The methods that people nowadays use to get news of any kind, whether it be sports, weather, or global, have changed drastically from the time where news was only available through newspapers and radio stations. Regarding terrorism, the media is the only source of information, unless it is a primary account of a soldier who had been at war. However, the media is able to manipulate any story to make someone or something either look good or bad. This is exactly what happened after the occurrence of 9/11. The media, along with the government, caught the wave of nationalism sweeping across the country and built news stories favoring America. For example, not many people talk about how the American government in 1990, intervened in the Middle East after Iraq invaded Kuwait, which could be a possible cause for the attacks of 9/11. This event and many other instances of American intervention in the Middle East have been swept under the rug by the U.S. government through the media. These incidences were all put forth as necessary steps to protect “our” best interests in the region. John Steinbrink, a professor of education and Jeremy Cook, a doctoral candidate at Oklahoma State University, used the media’s coverage of the aftermath of 9/11 as an example for education in media literacy, which is “the ability to read, understand, and interpret the influence of all forms of media in one’s life” (284). Using

The Syrian Civil War has had a profound effect of all Syrians as well as neighbouring countries and the international community. With more than 11 million homeless Syrians comes consequences beyond what most of the world population has ever experienced or anticipated. Of the displaced, almost 5 million are refugees outside Syria and around 6 million have been displaced inside Syria, with half of all displaced Syrians being children. The main causes of displacement amongst the population is the violence committed by all sides of the war, and which often targets civilians or centres of high civilian activity (such as markets, hospitals, schools, workplaces or high density residential areas). One main group heavily affected by the conflict

Fox News begins with images of people reacting after the plane crashes into the World Trade Center, and continues to report the breaking news emphasising that 9/11 is a tragic event ; “We have a very tragic alert for you right now , in incredible plane crash into the World Trade Center …”. The diction of the sentence makes the event bigger than it really is making the viewers believe in how tragic it is that the plane crashed in one of the towers. Words like “incredible”, “very”, and “tragic” used in this sentence creates the tragic atmosphere of the plane

Firstly, the “war on terror” had reduced the humanitarian concerns down, and the foreign policy. Furthermore, media coverage had become more deferential and constrained: therefore, reducing the chances of media influencing policy. The “war on terror” most importantly provided journalists with a guide in which they could understand global events and policy makers with the ability to justify a more aggressive foreign policy plan. At last, the “war on terror” had constructed an ideological bond between journalist and policy makers which created stronger media management. Techniques developed to display coverage of certain issues over others to frame stories that support official

Nowadays journalists have the responsibility to report facts as accurately, objectively, and disinterestedly as is humanly possible. ‘’The, honest, self-disciplined, well-trained reporter seeks to be a propagandist for nothing but the truth’’ (Casey, 1944b).

As of recent, there is an ongoing debate over the response of the Obama administration related to the events occurring in Syria and the potential violation by the Syrian government of customary international law and relevant treaties and conventions in the use of chemical weapons against its own people. The conflict itself has history which is required to be thoroughly examined before conclusions can be placed and actions are to be carried out. The Syrian Civil War has not only affected the lives of Syria’s citizens but has becoming a pressing issue in direct international relations between countries like Russia and the United States. Obama’s administration has their own response to the crisis at hand and believes that a military strike is a fully legal move to make given the situation present at hand. According to the evidence, it would seem possible that a violation has not occurred and that the threat by Obama’s administration to use force in the Syrian crisis stands on illegitimate grounds because the proceedings are done by Syrian government on their own grounds. However the atrocious actions committed by the Assad regime could in fact provide legality to military intervention by the United States. Finally, the focus will be to determine whether chemical weapons are in fact the sole factor for international intervention.

9/11 accomplishment is not how many people they had killed, but is terrifying people through all the reports and images of the attacks and changing the way many people throughout the world live (Philip M Seib and Dana M. Janbekb,2011). People have the right to know what is happening in this world. Journalists have the responsibility to explain so that the news consumers would be able to build their understanding of issues. However, if the news coverage about terrorist acts take up too much space, people’s fear will be promoted. This might scare people away from certain activities, such as using public transports, traveling by air, and traveling to certain countries in Middle East.