Assignment #2: A note on the blog "audience"

This post is to help you with Assignment #2. One thing you might analyze of the blog you have chosen is the intended audience.

Of course, know your audience is the first rule of effective writing. Your text discusses this briefly beginning on page 27.

For example, the popular blog Wonkette uses sarcasm to skewer the politics of the far-right in America. Its audience understands that the primary style of Wonkette is sarcastic, which is why they would not be confused by headlines such as this:

The joke, in case you do not follow American politics, is that right-wing talk radio pundit Rush Limbaugh said something so offensive he actually bolstered support for the Democratic Party, his supposed enemy. Instead of saying "Limbaugh boosts Democratic Party chances with female voters," the headline calls him a "secret liberal." That is called sarcasm.

Similarly, you could discuss the forms of satire that define The Onion. Sometimes the satire is very light, such as this recent headline:

The story is invented, of course. The target of the satire is, perhaps, the propensity of washed up athletes to continue playing in mediocre semi-pro leagues. In this case, a "mid-level" Greek basketball league is joined by celebrity dog Air Bud.

Sometimes the style of writing is less noteworthy than the general ideological bias of a blog. The most popular blog at the moment is the liberal-leaning Huffington Post. Conservative blogs include Hot Air and  Instapundit.

When you are analyzing the content and style of your favourite blog, consider the audience for which that blog publishes. What kinds of arguments are typical of that blog? Does the blog try to achieve a kind of journalistic neutrality, or is it openly partisan? You may wish to devote one of your blog posts to the topic of "audience".