Mary Young: CE Blog #5
Mary Young
ENGL 1102
Dr. Molly Daniel
22 October 2018
Current Event Blog 5: USA Today
Assessment of News Source
USA Today reportedly has a centrist audience, meaning there is typically no lean towards left or right views. Owned by Gannett Company, a print media corporation, that also prints newspapers such as the Detroit Free Press, The Indianapolis Star, and The Cincinnati Enquirer. The founder of USA Today was Allen Neuharth, who was a respected journalist and even won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. The current president and publisher is Maribel Perez Wadsworth, a veteran journalist that was also named corporate staffer of the year.
Summary
Author, William Cummings discusses the controversial statement made by the Trump administration regarding the transgender community in his article, “Activists Vow Transgender Americans #WontBeErased by Trump Administration.” According to Cummings the “Trump administration is considering a move to rigidly define gender as unchanging and biologically determined at birth.” The memo from the Trump administration threatens the rights of transgender peoples and those advocating for trans rights fear a setback in their progress, but also rid anti-discrimination laws and programs helping those individuals through federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services has not commented on the memo, yet. Cummings then lists many celebrities and politicians that have outspoken their support for the transgender community.
Analysis
Although there have been more sources advocating that USA Today has somewhat of a conservative lean, there has been little to really say about the paper’s political views. All-in-all, it seems to be balanced, neither lean towards conservatism or liberalism. Cummings only mentions Democratic politicians’ and liberalists’ posts when listing support for the LGBTQ+ community, but otherwise describes the situation and the public’s knowledge on the matter. There is a quote included from The New York Times that comes off to be more left-wing bias and does little to cover those with more right-wing opinions. Overall, Cummings’s sources could be accused of liberal bias, but his own opinion voice in the article is almost nonexistent.
Opinion
I think USA Today did a pretty great job with this article. I got the facts I needed to form my own opinion, which is: I’m pretty sure there are other things in this country that the Trump administration should be worrying about. Legally changing your gender is the same as legally changing your name or address, which most people do or have done at some point in their lives. To legally change your name, you don’t have to provide genetic proof that your surname is indeed your biological one. Again, much more pressing matters than stripping citizens of identity. #WontBeErased
Works Cited
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/22/reactions-gender-definition-proposal/1725477002/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today
https://web.archive.org/web/20180417073600/http://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=637508&p=4462444
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gannett#cite_note-The_Chain_That_Isn't_2012-12
The Chain That Isn't. Time [serial online]. December 16, 1957;70(25):57. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 6, 2012.
https://cronkite.asu.edu/about/walter-cronkite-and-asu/walter-cronkite-award
https://marketing.usatoday.com/about
https://www.gannett.com/who-we-are/leadership-team/Maribel-Wadsworth/
ENGL 1102
Dr. Molly Daniel
22 October 2018
Current Event Blog 5: USA Today
Assessment of News Source
USA Today reportedly has a centrist audience, meaning there is typically no lean towards left or right views. Owned by Gannett Company, a print media corporation, that also prints newspapers such as the Detroit Free Press, The Indianapolis Star, and The Cincinnati Enquirer. The founder of USA Today was Allen Neuharth, who was a respected journalist and even won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. The current president and publisher is Maribel Perez Wadsworth, a veteran journalist that was also named corporate staffer of the year.
Summary
Author, William Cummings discusses the controversial statement made by the Trump administration regarding the transgender community in his article, “Activists Vow Transgender Americans #WontBeErased by Trump Administration.” According to Cummings the “Trump administration is considering a move to rigidly define gender as unchanging and biologically determined at birth.” The memo from the Trump administration threatens the rights of transgender peoples and those advocating for trans rights fear a setback in their progress, but also rid anti-discrimination laws and programs helping those individuals through federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services has not commented on the memo, yet. Cummings then lists many celebrities and politicians that have outspoken their support for the transgender community.
Analysis
Although there have been more sources advocating that USA Today has somewhat of a conservative lean, there has been little to really say about the paper’s political views. All-in-all, it seems to be balanced, neither lean towards conservatism or liberalism. Cummings only mentions Democratic politicians’ and liberalists’ posts when listing support for the LGBTQ+ community, but otherwise describes the situation and the public’s knowledge on the matter. There is a quote included from The New York Times that comes off to be more left-wing bias and does little to cover those with more right-wing opinions. Overall, Cummings’s sources could be accused of liberal bias, but his own opinion voice in the article is almost nonexistent.
Opinion
I think USA Today did a pretty great job with this article. I got the facts I needed to form my own opinion, which is: I’m pretty sure there are other things in this country that the Trump administration should be worrying about. Legally changing your gender is the same as legally changing your name or address, which most people do or have done at some point in their lives. To legally change your name, you don’t have to provide genetic proof that your surname is indeed your biological one. Again, much more pressing matters than stripping citizens of identity. #WontBeErased
Works Cited
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/22/reactions-gender-definition-proposal/1725477002/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today
https://web.archive.org/web/20180417073600/http://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=637508&p=4462444
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gannett#cite_note-The_Chain_That_Isn't_2012-12
The Chain That Isn't. Time [serial online]. December 16, 1957;70(25):57. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 6, 2012.
https://cronkite.asu.edu/about/walter-cronkite-and-asu/walter-cronkite-award
https://marketing.usatoday.com/about
https://www.gannett.com/who-we-are/leadership-team/Maribel-Wadsworth/
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