Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

            Checking out Top News Magazines on an online database was a very interesting and new method for me. I only really check out magazines when I'm in the waiting room of my doctor's or dentists office, I've never really thought about checking online for a magazine article, but the websites proved to be somewhat interesting and I'll definitely look at them again. Links for articles found in response to first questions

OpenClipartVectors. "Europe European Union Flag" 10/20/2013 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

1- What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

            David Prosser from Forbes magazine recently released an article on January 22nd that covered why small businesses in the UK fear the split from the European Union. After a recent poll, it is said that about 47% of small business owners are against the split due to loss of relationships with overseas customers. Big business owners are all in favor of the split, so Britain is in a tough spot right now. Business in Britain recently released data saying that 70% of business owners want prime minister, David Cameron, to reevaluate UK's relationship with the EU.

2- Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

            The most sympathetic characters from this story are all business owners that are sitting in fear of losing what they have built up. This split could really put a lot of good, hard-working people out of a job and destroy their lives. I'm especially sympathetic to small business owners because both of my parents have built their own small businesses. If they ever had to fear that in one day their business would be no more, it would have a huge impact on my entire family.

3-Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

            The least sympathetic characters in the story are all the big business owners. Sure, it is great that their business is thriving and is huge, but they are unaffected by the split. Regardless of what happens, they will still be a big business, and they seem to all be in favor of the split without any regards to the smaller business owners.

Unknown. "File:Doritos Logo (2005 and 2013).jpg" 5/5/2013 via Wikipedia.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

1- What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

            Tim Calkins and Derek Rucker of Fortune magazine wrote a story relevant to all Super Bowl lovers on January 30th covering the hidden costs of Super Bowl commercials. Everyone loves the Super Bowl not only for America's favorite pass-time, but because the commercials that go along with it. Companies spend ridiculous amounts of money to get minimal amounts of ad time, but it seems as though a lot are backing out this year because the commercials have lost the spark they once had. Doritos is the main company talked about in this article, claiming to have backed out of the competitive field, along with Chevrolet and Career Builder. Not only is the cost for a spot on tv increasing, but there is also the cost of production, having to jump through hoops for copyright issues. they have realized that by the time they put the time, effort, and money into their ads, it may not be worth it.

2- Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

           Honestly, Doritos is the most sympathetic character in this story. I know it sounds dumb feeling pity for a brand of chips, but I grew up watching their hilarious commercials, especially for the ones that came out during the Super Bowl. My favorite one was this single mom brought a guy home and he starts eating Doritos in her house and her child comes up and slaps the guy. He then says "Keep your hands off my Doritos, and keep your hands of my momma." It is one of my favorite commercials, and to see that Doritos just gave up on trying to please their audience is saddening.

3-Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

            The least sympathetic character in this story would be the NFL. Of course this is a money-hungry organization and they'll do anything to increase their profits, but at the same time they are sucking the fun out of the Super Bowl. They should realize that the commercials bring in so many more viewers than if the Super Bowl did not have these moving ads.