Rhetorical Analysis of the Article I'm Sending Term Paper

Cross-Media Response to Digital Manipulation of Still and Moving Images" was originally published in the Fall of 1996 by the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. The primary author of the study, George Albert Gladney, holds a Ph.D. In Communication and serves as the Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication & Mass Media at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. The secondary author, Matthew C. Ehrlich, also holds Ph.D. In Communication and researches the sociological attributes of mass media communicators. The article presents a multitude of scientific research, including detailed "survey data for a cross-media comparison between newspaper photo editors and television news directors to assess the ethical response to digital image processing and enhancement technology," to support the contention "that television news directors tend toward less strict ethical standards in application of the technology" (Gladney and Ehrlich 496). The authors employ a highly formal tone throughout the introductory and expository segments of their findings, repeatedly referencing supplementary scholarly journals as the foundation of their claim that computer-assisted alteration of photographic images published by news purveyors is both prevalent and pervasive. Because of the continual attachment of direct citation to the vast majority of statements found within the first five pages, it is striking that the only assertions which are left unsubstantiated by prior research are critical passages claiming that "much of the research into the ethical response to digital manipulation technology has concentrated on the print media" and that "little empirical research has been directed to local TV stations" (Gladney and Ehrlich 497). After utilizing the support of no less than 12 scholarly citations in just two paragraphs to begin their paper, attempting quite successfully to harness the persuasive power of logos which is lent by authoritative qualification, one is left to wonder why the authors rely only on supposition when they opine that this perceived lack of research "is probably due largely to the fact that TV has lagged behind newspapers in adoption of the technology, although TV stations have adopted digital technology for many applications" (Gladney and Ehrlich 497).

As is the case with any concerted effort made to effect persuasion to a particular view, it is important to consider the source and examine their motives for any appearance of preconditioned bias.Even within the confines of the scientific research performed by academia, where objectivity and clinical detachment are the prized virtues of the realm, any number of external factors can color, whether intentionally or unwittingly, the eventual conclusions of a study's author. According to the biographical information published within George Albert Gladney's faculty page on the University of Wyoming website, the professor previously "worked as a financial reporter for the Los Angeles Times and as an editor of the Jackson Hole News and Colorado Springs Gazette" and this prior association with the field of print journalism would appear to be of importance considering the adversarial nature….....