Rachael Maddow's Show History Shows Bad Running Mate Choices Aren't Necessarily Fatal - Assignment Example

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL B University : Name : Reflective Journal A1 In the Rachael Maddow Show entitled “History shows bad running mate choices aren’t necessarily fatal”, Rachael presents the show from a second person perspective. Rachael interrogates historical happenings against the current presidential campaigns in the United States of America, in a race to succeed President Barrack Obama. She adopts an informative position as she traces the history of bad choices of Vice President Choices. She reveals that in both 1968 and 1988, bad choices of Vice President ware not fatal because both presidential campaigns were successful. She laughs and ridicules the unsuccessful efforts by the opponents to rally people against the choice of Vice Presidents. She digs back into history to prove a point: that although Donald Trump’s choice of running mate is not popular, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will lose. In other words, a bad choice of a running mate does not guarantee that a presidential hopeful will lose. If it were up to me, I would adopt the same informative point of view. My intention would be to give the public as much information as possible especially historical facts. I would however refrain from making comments that would make my viewers think that I am taking sides in the matter. A2 An informative presentation is one that seeks to inform about a given topic or issue. Such a presentation will aim at imparting knowledge to the listeners by imparting useful information. A persuasive presentation on the other hand seeks to persuade or convince the audience to either take an action or to adopt a certain line of thought or belief (Natt & Morgan: 2013). The aim of an informative presentation is to convey information in an accurate manner. In a persuasive presentation however, the aim is to influence the thoughts and feelings of the audience. Example of persuasive and informative presentation; Informative→ “ A new pumping system has been installed to handle the water crisis problem in the entire province. The new system is cheaper and has less operational challenges.” Persuasive→ “The new pumping system is more appropriate for a province this big. The system is not only clean but sustainable as well.” Example of Persuasive and Informative Conclusion: Informative Conclusion→ “Most of the road carnage accidents witnessed today cannot simply be dismissed as random. They are a result of drivers who were neither keen nor careful while on the road.” Persuasive Conclusion→ “Do not be careless. As drivers, take time to observe traffic rules as well as be on the lookout for other road users.” A3 The comparison here is between the daily show program called “Rachael Maddow Show” and “NCIS: Los Angeles”. Both programs are aired on different stations across the States. The Rachael Maddow Show is an example of the so-called one-man show. It is presented by Rachael, with the aid of audio-visual video clips. It is a talk show that concentrates on current affairs and discusses issues of public concern or interest. NCIS on the other hand is a television series that involves several actors and a story line. Unlike in a talk show where the audience is guided by dialogue, in the NCIS program the storyline is not narrated. The storyline is told through the audio-visual happenings within the program. The audience is often left to infer for themselves the meanings of the various actions within the program which is aired in parts. The visual aspects are important because they allow the Audience to see for themselves. It also makes the listeners and viewers more interested and captivated. A4 In 2006, UNICEF launched the State of the World’s Children Report that was entitled “The Excluded and Invisible children of the World.” Bruno Maes was invited to give a speech. In his speech, the fifth paragraph can be considered to be informative. The paragraph provides information in form of statistics relating to orphans all over the world. Bruno (2006) observed that the world had over 146 million orphans. 16 million children were orphaned in 2003. In the same year, 13% of Children in Ethiopia were orphans, and represented the largest percentage of orphans in a country in the whole world. HIV and AIDS are identified as the number one killer worldwide and more especially in impoverished countries in Africa and Asia. If it was my speech, I would go further to give a comparison with a country with low orphan percentages and how such a country has succeeded in keeping their orphan numbers very low. A5 In my informative speech about the much anticipated hybrid cars, I would begin by giving background information. Within the background information, I would trace the history of the hybrid cars and how the idea first came up. This information is important for the audience to appreciate how far technology within the automobile industry has evolved. My second point will be focused on the features of a hybrid car. This is because at this stage, the audience is curious and wants to know more about hybrid cars. Hence, I would give information about performance, handling as well as comfort of these cars. My third point will focus on giving a comparison between the average normal car and the hybrid car. The comparison will enable my listeners to get additional information. My fourth point will focus on costs associated with the hybrid cars. The costs include purchase, operational and maintenance costs. A6 One of the social issues that has always remained in the limelight has to do with dressing and fashion. History shows that long time ago, people used to dress decently, more especially ladies. Decency, during those days, was defined by the total clothing of the body, including thighs and breasts. Over time, the level of decency has gradually gone down especially with the advent of rights and freedoms. Ofcourse freedom comes with choices, and choices with outcomes. The outcome in this case is that people, especially in developed countries, tend to dress in revealing attire. The result is that people have generally gotten used to this trend to the extent that it no longer bothers them. There is just a thin line between embracing fashion and maintaining decency. I would like to see a society where people dress decently. In order for this to happen, people have to learn to value themselves and not necessarily bow to external persuasions from celebrities and other persons with influence globally. A7 The principle of consensus often plays out when people make their purchases. As such, people are often buying products simply because of persuasions from other people. This could be due to two reasons. First, there are so many products in the market today but no time to experiment and sample them all. Naturally therefore, people tend to rely on the satisfaction of previous customers. Second, the English saying “there is safety in numbers” perhaps informs people’s choice of products. When purchasing a product without full knowledge about it, it is often comforting and assuring to know that previous buyers have derived satisfaction from using the product. It would be highly unlikely that all those previous customers were wrong about the product. If many people can attest to a product being good, chances are that the product is actually good. I too often buy items because I see others buy. For example, all the car models that I have bought so far were bought as a result of people’s persuasions. A8 I am evaluating the Jaguar advertisement on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1BiFTk5Acw. The advert to begin with is creative. In order to signify stability, Jaguar has made use of a hen’s movement in a likeable way. The advertisement depicts a lot of authority in terms of class and stability of the product itself. In terms of scarcity, indeed the jaguar is not a very common car. It is scarce due to various factors, and as such is an automobile that is much sought after. The advertisement depicts consistency and commitment to safety on the road. The main theme in the advertisement seems to be stability which speaks to better handling and safety. It certainly uses more than one principle. The principle of consistency and commitment appeals to me most above every other. If I was to make any changes to the advertisement, I would perhaps make the Jaguar car model more visible within the advertisement. A9 Between discontinuance and deterrence, Discontinuance is more difficult. In the art of persuasion, discontinuance involves persuading the audience to stop doing something while deterrence involves persuading the audience not to indulge in something. I believe discontinuance to be more difficult because it involves asking the audience to stop something which they are already doing as opposed to asking the audience not to indulge into something. In terms of discontinuance, the audience’s actions have already formed a habit. For example, it is easier to persuade the audience not to start smoking than to convince an audience of smokers to stop the habit. A10 In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I feel I have achieved the first three needs; physiological needs, safety needs and belongingness and love needs. I believe I have achieved physiological needs because I can provide for myself food, clothing, pay my bills as well as spare time to rest. I also feel secure, both physically and financially. I also have friends, some of whom are very close and intimate to me. Two or three years back, I was still struggling within the first two needs. Currently I feel that I am transitioning between the love need and the esteem needs. As days go by, I expect to conquer the esteem needs and eventually reach the level of self actualization. I am working hard to get myself to that point. References Maddow, R. (2016). “History shows bad running mate choices aren’t necessarily fatal”. The Rachael Maddow Show at MSNBC. Available at http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show. Accessed on 14/7/2016. Natt, J. and Morgan, M. (2013). Effective Presentations 3rd Ed. Indiana: Purdue University. Bruno, M. (2006). Speech to mark the launching of the State of the World’s Report 2006: The Excluded and Invisible Children of the World. Available at http://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/ET_Bruno_SWCR_06.pdf Read More