Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1482974-media-review
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1482974-media-review.
The article, therefore, is written to give the reader the state of Mandela’s health as he marks his 95th birthday.
The writer in the introduction part of the article brings out a clear-cut main idea. It actually is the South African president who first wished an attention-getter as the writer describes Mandela’s birthday. President Zuma arrived at the clinic to wish Tata Mandela a happy 95th birthday on Thursday morning. In these words, it brings out a clear picture of how important the iconic leader’s birthday is. However, the writer emphasizes the health aspect as he develops a report given by the South African president who mentions a good improvement record in Mandela’s health. The writer describing how the iconic leader’s daughter also visited and acknowledged improvements in his health proves an additional account of Mandela’s health. The use of vivid description also helps to emphasize how good health of Mandela is. The writer describes her (Mandela’s daughter) as the smiling Winnie who interacted with civilians and the media. Emphasis also is present as the writer described how Winnie walked into the hospital unguarded.
The writer also provides enough factual material to support his main idea of how important Mandela’s health is. He initiates quotes from both the South African president and Winnie Mandela’s speeches to give the reader the actual state of Mandela’s health. Giving accounts from two different sources helps substantiate the truly the former president's health is well (Bednarek 23). An account from the president’s spokesperson is also evidence that the writer engages to assure the reader that without any doubt Mandela’s health is improving. This is by far an official account, which everyone acknowledges. This information is highly credible as there are many witness accounts from the president, the spokesperson, to two of Mandela’s daughters. An added description of how the government departments, the private sectors, and well-wishers gathered for prayers at the clinic shows that the whole country celebrated Mandela’s birthday. By delving further into a deep description of how the celebration went down gives any reader a picture of the whole celebration. The Gauteng traffic police present appropriate evidence to the reader as the writer describes how celebrations were colorful with balloons, music, and a demonstration. Not forgetting the mention of a cake, which is a symbol for celebration across the whole world?
In my opinion, the reportage is true and balanced as the writer focuses on many aspects to which he presents to a reader with undoubted evidence. He also uses eyewitness accounts to justify his main points. Although the writer presents different viewpoints at some point in the article, he exclusively uses his literary skills to still connect these points to a single functional and meaningful point. Therefore, the article is informative and convincing to any reader. This means that anyone who reads the article is able to deduce that Mandela’s health has improved as he celebrates his birthday. At the beginning of the article, the use of a picture to describe how high the celebrations were spirited gives a reader a mental capture of the scene. A clear point being Mandela an iconic leader is celebrated among all the citizens of the world. This is of course reinforced by the speech by American president Obama who had recently visited Mandela and urged everyone to follow in his footsteps. The use of bold subheadings in the text helps give a reader a sneak peek at the most important aspects of the article. These include health-improving, sacrifice and rolling up their sleeves is among the well-utilized subheadings.
In conclusion, my thought about the article, therefore, is a well-articulated literary presentation backed with evidence. Any reader gets the message presented by the author as a clear and flowing system of grammar is used.
Read More