Semester Topic Proposal

Lately there has been a lot of talk, discrepancy, and controversy over Feminism and what it really means to be a Feminist. Most people see it as a radical movement and don't want to be associated with the extremists, therefore many people don't consider themselves Feminists. It's come to the point that people won't ever publicly admit their views on Feminist in fear of being judged by peers and society. Feminism directly effects me. As a female who believes in equal pay and equal opportunity in the work place, I do have feminist beliefs. It even goes father for me because the field of work I want to be in is severely male dominated. Working in television and news has been a male dominated job since television first began and only since the 1970s have women been able to inch their way into the spectrum. This trickles down even father into women in any kind of sports or political broadcasting. When a woman is the one reporting on either of these topics, its been know that viewers feel that women less educated and knowledgeable on the subject in comparison to a man. It's to the point where professors will even mention during classes that it can be difficult for people to get careers with television networks, and that struggle becomes even stronger with females. No one wants to admit that sexism still exists in the workplace, but it does and it's still very much alive.

Parody of a Newscast Links

1. http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wzvn/newsscripts/140116_abc_11p.htm#CRAZY
2.https://d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net/aEayv3JS0pl2h9bYHzmLDDew3QMYCB8PA9GZTPJotAzxRknV.pdf
3. http://www.academia.edu/8075869/Sample_5-minute_Broadcast_Script


Questions:

In what situations or contexts is the genre used?

Broadcast/TV news writing is used for daily news reports. It is also used in entertainment news, sports news, talk-shows, and other genres that are similar in the state of news.

Who is the typical audience for the genre?

A typical audience would be broadly everyone who owns a television. Newspapers are a dying art and most people want news fast and in a visual manner. Most people watch television news, whether it's hard news or entertainment.
What rhetorical action(s) does the genre aim to accomplish? 

This genre aims to accomplish the clearest and most well spoken writing so TV anchors can successfully share this information with their audiences. The writing isn't too wordy or syntax heavy because the anchors shouldn't be tripping over their words while they are reporting and also because the audience may have a hard time understanding the anchor. The formatting of these scripts helps this also.
What are some typical or conventional features of the genre? (i.e., what are some “moves” common to individual instances of the genre, both in terms of content, physical features, and style?)

There are several features that news broadcasts tend to have. They always have an opening statement, as well as a strong lead for the first story to draw the viewer in. They also have abrupt transitions through stories in order to fit more of them in a small time window. Anchors use emphasis and change the pitch of their voice when reading these reports as a technique to sound less flat and more exuberant. News broadcasts also have a closing statement, similar to that of the beginning.