In-Class Assignment 3/14/14

A) This specific topic brings in a certain crowd. People who are interested in sports may not be highly focused on what is going on environmentally. In politics, members have to be conscious of all aspects of society. This issue is about dealing with the Great Lakes restoration plans. The first and third site portray the story as a the government cutting spending on Great Lakes restoration programs. The second and fourth site give the sense that this story is a good thing because they are offering rewards to fight against the invasive Asian carp. People would have to be interested in restoration to our Lakes and preservation of our wonderful waters to want to go out and act on these propositions. The audience I would except to act are the environmentalist and the scientists, rather than the athletic viewer. The Wall Street Journal, specifically, is more liberal than conservative. Liberals are more focused on preserving the economy now, while conservatives are focused more on the future.

B) The next topic is on the issue of contraception. The first site talks about how some companies do not supply all of their employees with health insurance that would cover forms of contraception. This site talks with two people and uses quotes from them to build their story. These people are not credible doctors who know anything about contraceptives from a medical stand point. These people they talked to are owners of an arts and craft manufacturer and a cabinet manufacturer. The third site in strongly liberal in their opinion on this issue, but the website is a woman's blog. In the title they say "make the right move", implying that they agree with the use of contraceptions in regulating pregnancies. Many people are interested in this issue which means an active audience participation in a debate or actions can be easily achieved. People will go out on their own will to protest or make proposals to try and prevent rules to regulate how much a woman can do to try and prevent a pregnancy.

C) The third and final topic is about homosexuality in Ugandan. Before looking at any of these websites for their opinion I can tell you the audience will already be active in this case. Society is trying to move towards being tolerant of each other and their preferences in mates. Some people are not supporters of gay rights, therefore they do not engage in a supportive manner. After looking at all of the titles, an interesting thing I found was that only one site (the first) used the word homosexuality instead of the word "gay". This interests me because some people make a big deal about word choice, in this instance, homosexuality seems more professional and unbiased to me. The new law that each story is discussing is that gay sex in Uganda is now punishable by life in prison or restrictions of jobs.  The Washington Post seems to be more liberal in its writings than conservative. The Post writes in its title "harsh anti-gay bill", which to me means that they feel this bill is a little extreme. Liberals would not be in support of a bill that does not support homosexual rights. The CNN article is the most in the middle on this topic. They present a perspective that is skeptical of the issue in the matter that they do not use charged words that would favor one side over the other.