Blog Post #20 - Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

For Blog Post #20 I have chosen 3 different examples of opinionated public speech by someone in my field that I find interesting.

The first item I came across was by the Paulick Report. Since horse racing has no president or CEO, Ray Paulick took it upon himself to compile a "Horse Racing State of the Union for 2015?". It is nothing more than a series of tweet responses, but gives a good cross section of what people in and around the industry are thinking.

NASA HQ PHOTO. "State Of The Union (201501200004HQ)". 1/20/2015. via Flickr
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• Evaluative paragraph about the text's author/speaker.
• Going off of nothing more than what is in the text, the only thing I can say is that the author is a leading member in the industry (media). The Paulick Report is well respected and credible source of information in the industry and has been for some time.
• Evaluative paragraph about text's audience.
• The primary audience is anyone who follows the Paulick Report or anyone interested in horse racing. The individual Tweets from the audience are varied and geared toward others reading the same page but take various sides of various issues.
• Evaluative paragraph about the text's context.
• Date: 01/21/2015
• Medium: Internet (website)
• Shaping Events: Obama's State of the Union address, continued yearly review
• Backgrounds: Americans interested in the sport of horse racing
• Location: n/a
• Similar texts: unknown

The second article I came across was written by a man at the University of Sydney in Australia. His "There are no winners: horse racing is unethical" is a completely one-sided look at the race industry. I read through the piece looking for any facts and could only find a single fact. One region in Spain has actually banned bullfights. Whether I agree with someone or not I still find it very difficult to listen to someone tell twisted truths, half-truths or parts of the truth to make a point. In my opinion, people's opinions are worth about as much as the hair on my ass.

• Evaluative paragraph about the text's author/speaker.
• The co-authors are teachers at the University of Sydney (one in Political Lecturing, the other in Digital Cultures Program). I would assume they live somewhere near the campus in Sydney. Though there positions speak of credibility, it has nothing to do with the industry of horse racing.
• Evaluative paragraph about text's audience.
• The article was linked to the topics of horse racing, ethics and animal welfare. The primary audience is any like-minded individual or those uninformed about the industry. There are many "scare tactic" phrases similar to what I used in the military during Psychological Operations in eastern Afghanistan. There is a constant rehash back to death, cruelty and pain and a very well put together use of cognitive distortion keys.
• Evaluative paragraph about the text's context.
• Date: 6-21-2012
• Medium: Internet (ABC News Australia)
• Shaping Events: none that I am aware of
• Backgrounds: I believe Australia has roughly the same number of major languages as the United States does. Culturally, they aren't as far removed from an agricultural society as the U.S. is, but by only a couple decades.
• Location: n/a
• Similar texts: unknown

The third article that caught my attention was about the use of a crop in racing. The article, "Use of the Whip in racing" talks about several issues of interest. There is no opinion just a statement of fact and a call to make the sport safer and more appropriate. There are several questions that are raised that will need to be answered before any consensus can be made, but overall, an interesting read.

• Evaluative paragraph about the text's author/speaker.
• Though the name of the author is unknown it appears he/she has written for the World Horse Welfare charity before. I get the impression they are tied with International horse racing due to the knowledge and familiarity used.
• Evaluative paragraph about text's audience.
• The article was published my an animal rights group but is non-committal in it's voice which makes me believe the organization has members/audience from all parts of the industry. There are references to popular events that most people would know and all were shocked about.
• Evaluative paragraph about the text's context.
• Date: unknown. Possibly the summer of 2011.
• Medium: Internet (World Horse Welfare website)
• Shaping Events: 2011 Grand National, 2011 BHA symposium
• Backgrounds: I am not positive, but I believe the charity is worldwide but based in England. Groups like this usually have widespread audiences, so no definitive on cultural/ethnic backgrounds.
• Location: n/a
• Similar texts: unknown

The fourth article that I looked at "Horse Racing: How Much Whipping Is Too Much?", talks about the current debate in horse racing over the use of the whip. There is a statement of the current issue as it stands, interviews with multiple, credible sources inside the industry and an unbiased overview.

• Evaluative paragraph about the text's author/speaker.
• The author, Pia Catton, is a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who covers the arts and horse racing. She currently lives in New York City and has an interest in developing the arts at the community level in small towns. In the racing industry, she is a newcomer with a vested interest. She graduated from Kenyon College and has worked in journalism at the New York Post, New York Sun and now Wall Street Journal.
• Evaluative paragraph about text's audience.
• The Wall Street Journal is the largest publication in the United States. It primarily covers American economic and international business. The main audience would be readers of the Journal who also find horse racing of interest.
• Evaluative paragraph about the text's context.
• Date: May 25, 2015
• Medium: The Wall Street Journal (print & internet)
• Shaping Events: 2015 Triple Crown, current whipping debate
• Backgrounds: Business people, middle and upper classes in America. The is a high number of people in the U.S. against animal cruelty and usually a public outcry against such acts. The Triple Crown is the biggest public draw for horse racing in the U.S.
• Location: New York City (local), but readership is nation-wide
• Similar texts: Any newspaper or magazine covering similar articles.