Today’s world has become very sensitive
to political and religious groups in the spotlight within the academic setting.
One example of this is the LSU “Painted Posse,” a group of Christian LSU
students who paint their bodies in school colors and the symbol of the cross
for home game events. In order to avoid any conflict with other students, the
university administration photoshopped the crosses off each member’s shoulder
before sending out a newsletter the photo was on. Though only one member of the
group was offended by this act, this news article was featured on Fox News main
web page, with the headline “Holy Photoshop! LSU erased Christian football
fans’ crosses,” with a large, eye-catching image that first shows their chests
with the cross, and then, when you press an arrow to the right, transitions to
the photoshopped version (both photos shown below).
Fox News is known as a more
conservative news outlet. By taking a more conservative stance on many issues,
Fox News attracts a large crowd of Christian and other religious groups that
resonate with similar political beliefs. Fox News knows who their readers are
and, as a result, are able to publish stories with a greater religious context
because it is important to their readers. Their audience is also more sensitive
to issues like religious freedom, making this article a fitting addition to
their website.
The main argument between both
activity systems (the LSU “Painted Posse” and LSU Administration) is the role
the symbol of the cross plays in school spirit. With the use of clear, active
language, the journalist portrays this point by minimal use of jargon or
technical terms related to the academic world. Because of the increase in
number of people receiving a college degree, many people have a general
understanding of the university system. As Americans, a majority of people also
understand a person’s right to free speech and religion. With the understanding
of this right, audience members see the conflict the writer is trying to
portray. Though I think the contents of this article are important, the real
argument is being fought by the writer and not the “Painted Posse”--as only one
member of that group was actually upset the crosses were removed, leaving me to
question the reasoning behind making this story such a pointed part of Fox
News’ main headlines.
When the writer uses direct
quotes from both LSU Administration and members of the “Painted Posse,” the aim
is to simply report the facts and not try to summarize them on their behalf. By
directly quoting, confusion is offset and the tone of the article is very
conversational. Fox News’ readers should feel fairly confident they are
receiving the full story--as they already choose to go to this site for
information. The journalist also uses common language that is accessible for a
wide range of readers, which is confirmed because of the high reading ease,
which is 69.5. The average readability score is 8.1 -- a score that shows
nearly any person with an education of eighth grade or above would be perfectly
capable of reading and understanding this article.
The language chosen by the
author also adds emphasis to the issue discussed in the article. For example,
when the author writes “A group of Louisiana State University football fans
whose admiration for the Tigers is second only to their love for Jesus is
outraged,” they are essentially saying that the group as a whole was very
upset. The word “outraged” has a connotation attached to it, one that suggests
outward displays of anger, which is just not accurate in this context. In the
third paragraph of the article, the author quotes a member of the Painted Posse
as being “a bit surprised,” which is quite far from being “outraged.” Also, by
using the words “Holy Photoshop” in the title of the article, the author gives
readers--and those who just browse the title--the sense that the entirety of
the photo was altered, not just a small portion of it.
Some of the sentence combining
skills used by the author also enhances his message and the ideas he is
promoting. By using an appositive in this article, the writer is aiming to be
more detailed in a concise way. Because it all comes in one sentence, readers
are not interrupted or thrown off by an abrupt end of sentence, but they are
given a sentence with good flow that is easily understood. This is not the only
time the author uses appositive in their writing, as I think it really does
enhance the clarity of the message they are trying to get across. Each
additional piece of information inserted into each sentence gives more detail
about the specific pieces of information in the sentence. The author could have
chosen to write shorter sentences with each piece of information, but by
including more information into each sentence, using this sentence combining
strategy, the writer creates a more readable sentence.
Though LSU is responsible for
removing the crosses, only one member of the “Painted Posse” was actually upset.
If I had not read the entire article, I probably would have thought several
people were mad and that some type of controversy surrounded this event. By the
time I had finished the article I knew that was not the case and was somewhat
confused about why this article was featured as headline news. The plain
language used by the author of this article shows Fox News’s awareness of their
audience and the ideals they feel comfortable pursuing. By using many of these
plain writing styles and choosing to write about this topic, Fox News makes
their readers feel that this media outlet is relevant and important to their
lifestyle. They feel they can trust this source. Though there is wealth to this
method, those who have contrasting beliefs will likely grasp the full intent of
this article not feel the same.
--Melissa Moss
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