Since the beginning of American journalism, there has been a relationship between the reader and journalist of supply and demand. The reader wants scandalous or critical news and the journalist is happy to provide. In the 1960s, Clare Boothe Luce, in a speech made for the journalists in Women's National Press Club, criticizes the journalists for their seemingly mindless continuation of the supply and demand cycle. Luce challenges them to focus on the complete truth, rather than a fantastical half-truth. She prepares the audience for this message by beginning with a metaphor that emphasizes the importance of her message, using an ironic tone, not to be missed by the journalists, and by using ethos to remind the journalists what their responsibilities entail.
As Luce begins her speech, she introduces her purpose by using a metaphor of "throwing rocks", proposing that it is to criticize, she continues by emphasizing the importance by stating that "the subject is not only of great national significance but also has, one should say, infinite possibilities-and infinite perils to the rock thrower." By saying this, she is making …show more content…
She uses ethos to bring back journalists to the root of the problem, which is that they are no longer focusing on the most basic requirement for good journalism, the extraction and publication of the truth. It is a call to action by Luce to settle themselves to hearing her out, so that they can return to being honest journalists. She states that "no audience is more forgiving (I hope) to the speaker who fails or stumbles in his own pursuit of it [truth]." She says this to ask for them to hear her out, because the sole purpose of her 'rock throwing' is to bring the truth to light, which any true journalist would forgive and take into stride. The only unforgivable action, would be to speak as she had exemplified paragraph three, with a flowery
As Luce begins her speech, she introduces her purpose by using a metaphor of "throwing rocks", proposing that it is to criticize, she continues by emphasizing the importance by stating that "the subject is not only of great national significance but also has, one should say, infinite possibilities-and infinite perils to the rock thrower." By saying this, she is making …show more content…
She uses ethos to bring back journalists to the root of the problem, which is that they are no longer focusing on the most basic requirement for good journalism, the extraction and publication of the truth. It is a call to action by Luce to settle themselves to hearing her out, so that they can return to being honest journalists. She states that "no audience is more forgiving (I hope) to the speaker who fails or stumbles in his own pursuit of it [truth]." She says this to ask for them to hear her out, because the sole purpose of her 'rock throwing' is to bring the truth to light, which any true journalist would forgive and take into stride. The only unforgivable action, would be to speak as she had exemplified paragraph three, with a flowery