Primary Sources , and other things…

1. Primary Sources, and other things… Political Speeches – example SOTU

2. What is a primary source? • The speech is the primary source. • Who delivers the speech? • Who writes the speech? • Who is the audience for the speech? • What is the subject of the speech?

3. What is a secondary source? • Commentary and analysis of the primary source, and any further commentary and analysis on the previous commentary and analysis… • There is a RANGE – informal, citizens, academic, official/unofficial news, pundits, lampoon/satire, liberal/conservative…so consider rhetorical triangle. • Part of “public discourse”

4. Examples of News analysis: • According to Will Rahn, a reporter for The Daily Caller, Several liberal commentators, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, criticized President Obama’s State of the Union speech for lacking a clear message:

5. Rahn, quoting Krugman… • “We’re going to invest in the future — but we’re also going to freeze domestic spending. So mixed signals — and although there were no numbers, given the further assurance that the freeze won’t affect anything important, this has to mean that the investment plans are small change,” Krugman wrote in the New York Times. “I have no idea what the vision here was. We care about the future! But we don’t want to spend! Meh.”

6. More from Will Rahn • CNN’s David Gergen, who has advised both Republican and Democratic presidents during his long career, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the speech “wasn’t a serious effort to come to grips with what is a towering problem. He’s holding back. I don’t know why.”

7. More from Will Rahn • The reliably liberal Washington Post editorial board was similarly underwhelmed. “President Obama entered office promising to be a different kind of politician — one who would speak honestly with the American people about the hard choices they face and would help make those hard calls,” they wrote. “Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address would have been the moment to make good on that promise. He disappointed.” The Post’s Ezra Klein didn’t care for it either, saying that “[T]here weren’t enough specifics to really know where the president is going.”

8. More from Will Rahn • “[I]t’s hard to say what the president really means when he talks about investment, because we don’t know how much investment he’s proposing that we do — nor where the money will come from,” he continued. • Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/26/liberal-pundits-knock-obamas-state-of-the-union-address/#ixzz1DOB2N3YR

9. Who is Will Rahn? • What is The Daily Caller? • Is it conservative/liberal/other? • How does Rahn show bias? What statement does he make by pulling together several LIBERAL commentators (pundits?) who criticize the SOTU?

10. Bloggers love to analyze • What is a blogger? From Web Log = blog • Who is the blogger? • Why are they blogging? • “Mommy bloggers,” school blogs, special interest, etc. • For whom are they blogging? • (Reliable sources have bloggers, too!) • Is this person reliable, and how do you know? • Q: Even if someone isn’t “reliable,” can their commentary still be worthwhile? A: Well, it’s part of that “public discourse,” but define “worthwhile.” (This was actually an AP question once!!)

11. Don’t forget about satire!

12. Satire is funny!! • Sometime humor is subtle, so not everyone “gets” it. Unfortunately, this can also make it offensive to some, especially if it’s taken literally. • “Making fun of” CAN be hurtful… • Humor is used to make a point. • What makes something funny? Sarcasm, exaggeration/overstatement, incongruity, etc.

13. Analysis can include DATA • What kind of DATA can you gather from a speech? • It is driven and made possible by technology. • Why would anyone do this??? Maybe, just because they can!! • What might that data reveal? See: Three examples - Internet

14. Note that I demonstrate tech-savvy by inserting hyperlinks into my PowerPoint. • Charting word frequency, and comparing it to other speeches...to draw what kind of conclusions? • Word frequency - "word cloud? • Instant Polling

15. And then came Twitter… • 140 characters or less • Good: precision of language necessary, instant, global, • Bad: splng, pnct, = casualties , TMI, not ENOUGH info, sometimes… • Raise your hand if you tweet… • People multi-task - they watch the SOTU and tweet @ the same time: Watch this, from ABC News • Tweetbeat – gathering more info, more data…

16. Now, onto a different question… • To what degree is inflammatory political rhetoric* to blame for the shooting in Arizona? • What would Orwell say?? • Language  thoughts. Do thoughts  actions? *not necessarily from primary sources

17. Finding the correct answer… • Is it a matter of opinion? • Do you have to have support, if it is “just” your opinion? • Why not just Google it?

18. Let’s see what happens…http://www.google.com/ • Some good, some bad, some unsure… • The fact that all of this junk comes up is an indicator that it is a PART of the “public discourse,” whether it is reliable or not. • You have to know what to make of it – this is where your ability to “synthesize” information and draw rational conclusions is important.