Objectivity

Issue: Are environmental regulations the cause of decreased coal production in West Virginia?

Site: "Pollution Issues" 

 

Objectivity: What is the author's point of view? Summarize the argument being presented. What is the purpose of the site?

• What is the author's / speaker's socio-political position? With what social, political, or professional groups is the speaker identified?
• Does the speaker have anything to gain personally from delivering the message?
• Who is paying for the message? Where does the message appear? What is the bias of the medium? Who stands to gain?
• What sources does the speaker use, and how credible are they? Does the speaker cite statistics? If so, how were the data gathered, who gathered the data, and are the data being presented fully?
• How does the speaker present arguments? Is the message one-sided, or does it include alternative points of view? Does the speaker fairly present alternative arguments? Does the speaker ignore obviously conflicting arguments?
• If the message includes alternative points of view, how are those views characterized? Does the speaker use positive words and images to describe his/her point of view and negative words and images to describe other points of view? Does the speaker ascribe positive motivations to his/her point of view and negative motivations to alternative points of view?

           The speaker is trying to get other to understand the use of coal is harmful and that we should stop the use of it. From a political view this looks like a he is for Obama who putting harsh new laws and rules on the coal indtrusty. I feel that the main purpose is mainly to inform us on the environmental isssue of global warming maybe coming from the use of coal which has powered our country for years!