Magazine Deconstruction

Authors and Audience:

• Who produced this document, and for what purpose?
• theblaze.com. It was produced to tell the “truth” about the material in their magazine.
• When was this produced, and what was it's historical context?
• This was produced in May 2014 which was only 4 months ago. The context is that common core is going to ruin our kids future and our own..
• Who is the target audience?
• Parents, because of the use of the word our that claims possession on the kids.

Messages and Meanings:

• What are the messages communicated?
• The messages are communicating that common core is going to threaten our kids future as well as our own. There are also featured articles at the top of the cover that seem to show a leaning towards christians. This makes the magazine feel more like a religious magazine and sends the message that this is what the christian community thinks.
• What techniques are used to attract and hold attention?
• The different font types grab your attention, the picture of the students and the words being in all of their thought bubbles as if the children are thinking this.
• How might people interpret this message differently?
• Some may interpret this message for what they want, which is that the common core will threaten their students and our future. It can also be interpreted as a religious bias towards education because of the christian basis the magazine appears to have.
• Who might benefit from (and who might be harmed by) this message?
• The parents may benefit from reading the article because they will learn about the common core, but it is probably biased to send a negative message. This can in turn harm the children because of the degree the parent may go if they take the common core as a threat and not read the article just to learn what the common core is and is about. The child could potentially be pulled from school and might receive a lower education, this is not to say that they will ,but it may happen.

Representation and Reality:

• What information or perspective is left out of this message?
• The perspective of the educator is left out of this message and is geared to the parents.
• Is this an accurate and credible representation?
• No, because in the title of their website is says breaking news and opinion. This means that opinion is a large part of their material and makes them less credible when delivering information.
• How does this reflect the perspective or bias of its creator?
• Being opinion base allows for the creator to say whatever they want on the subject which puts a major bias on the material.

Text:

• The logo for The Blaze magazine
• The Blaze moto “Truth Lives Here”
• advertisement for theblaze.com
• picture of students working and thinking the feature article “Collective: Common Core’s threat to our kids, our freedom and our future.”
• Previews for other articles in the magazine on the top of the cover.

Subtext:

• The students are concerned that common core with threaten their future and the freedom and future of their parents.
• students think common core is threatening
• common core threatens the future
• Our freedom will be taken away by common core
• Nothing good can come from common core

Language of Persuasion

• Bandwagon
• Association
• Fear
• Plain folks
• Extrapolation
• Slippery slope
• Symbols
• Group dynamics