PHIL 447N Week 3 Assignment: Short paper
The written assignment for Week 3 is to write a short essay of two or three double-spaced pages after you have watched two televised newscasts of national news on the same day. One newscast is to come from a cable or satellite news network (examples being CNN, Headline, Fox News, CNBC, and MSNBC) and the other from one of the broadcast networks (examples being CBS, NBC, ABC, or Fox Network).
Please be sure to select national newscasts rather than your local city or regional newscasts.
You have your choice of which cable/satellite source and which broadcast source you choose. The half-hour newscasts are best for this exercise.
While watching, keep notes of the top three stories and the amount of time devoted to each of the three stories.
With your notes in hand, write your comparison of the two newscasts based on these four factors:
- the top three news stories covered – whether they match or differ in the two newscasts;
- the amount of air time given to each of those three stories;
- any difference in the slant of the presentations of the three stories; and
- anything you heard that affected the credibility of the people delivering the reports.
To conclude, how would you account for the similarities between the two newscasts in both selection and content of the stories?
PHIL-447N Week 3 Discussion Question 1 – Credibility (graded)
List as many relevant (and maybe irrelevant) factors as you can think of that people often mistake for signs of another person’s truthfulness. Perhaps you can tell a story about a notable example. Here is a starter example: the firmness of somebody’s handshake as a sign of their truthfulness.
PHIL 447N Week 3 Discussion Question 2 – Euphemisms and Dysphemisms (graded)
Report an example of a euphemism or dysphemism that you have come across. Discuss when it is and is not appropriate to use such veiled language. Common subjects for which people use euphemisms are death, physical appearance, and commercials. Common subjects for which people use dysphemisms are politics and news reports.
PHIL 447N Week 3 Quiz (MCQs)
Question : (TCO 6) In Chapter 4, we learned how to assess the credibility of a claim. Consider the following report publshed in the Weekly World News:
“ALIEN AUTOPSY PROVED! Scientists who conducted an autopsy of an extraterrestrial in Area 51 have revealed the truth! ‘There must be 200 bodies that they operated on and not a single one of them is human,’ Dr. Hugh Schild, the Swiss anthropologist, told reporters.”
This report has credibility because it is:
- Question : (TCOs 7 and 9) In Chapter 5, we learned that it is important to recognize when a rhetorical slanting device is being used to influence our attitudes and beliefs. Here is an example.
“Studies show what everyone knows is true: the death penalty deters crime.”
In this statement, “studies show” suggests which rhetorical slanting device?
- Question : (TCOs 7 and 9) In Chapter 5, we learned that it is important to recognize when a rhetorical slanting device is being used to influence our attitudes and beliefs. Here is an example.
“Making the former CEO of a communications company the head of the Federal Communications Commission is like making a prisoner with a life sentence warden of the prison.”
The comparison between a CEO and a prisoner suggests which rhetorical slanting device?
- Question : (TCOs 7 and 9) In Chapter 5, we learned that it is important to recognize when a rhetorical slanting device is being used to influence our attitudes and beliefs. Here is an example.
“Bob Marley is the greatest musician who ever lived.”
The exaggeration in this example suggests which rhetorical slanting device?
- Question : (TCOs 7 and 9) In Chapter 5, we learned that it is important to recognize when a rhetorical slanting device is being used to influence our attitudes and beliefs. Here is an example.
“Can Senator Morrison be believed when she says she will fight for the second amendment? You be the judge.”
The subtle hints undermining Senator Morrison’s credibility when it comes to her support for the Second Amendment suggest which rhetorical slanting device?