Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Keith Olbermann on Health Care Reform

A segment of the MSNBC program "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" with Olbermann discussing a breakdown of communication within the health care debate. The Media producer for this show is MSNBC, a cable news channel resulting from a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. The parent company of NBC, General Electric now owns a controlling stake in MSNBC while remaining 50/50 partners with Microsoft in MSNBC.com. The media communicator in this text is Keith Olbermann, who began his rise to prominence in the immediate time period following the beginning of the Iraq War. Feeling as if the mainstream media gave the Bush Administration a pass on the war, Olbermann developed his firebrand style of critical opinion journalism. He has been labeled by observers as leaning towards liberalism and has engaged in critical exchanges with leading conservative commentators.



Source:

Keith Olbermann on Health Care Reform. [Online Video Clip]
Available http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#33217219, October 7, 2009.
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1 comment:

  1. Tanisha ShabazzOctober 7, 2009 at 8:41 PM

    The communicator in this episode of Count down with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC. Keith Olberman, though he may agree and speaks of personal experience with our current health care plan, is the performer.

    Olberman has multiple functions in this piece. The first is expression. He presents an 11.5 minute speech about his frustration with our health care system. His rhetoric is extremely emotional and heart breaking as he speaks of his ill father. (Pathos) He continues with asking the questions, "Is it fair that because my wallet is deeper than yours my father gets health care and yours doesn't?"

    Olbermann was able to pay for the best health care for his father. He states that his father's doctor is one of the top five specialists in the U.S. Olbermann could afford his father's health care, but he still supports health care for everyone. (Disarming) This was persuasion.

    Lastly, Olbermann addresses misconceptions about the public option. He defines it as Medicare for everyone. (Logos)

    I found this piece interesting because it is basically a verbal op-ed rooted in Aristotle's triangle.

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