Media Deconstruction

Media Deconstruction- The Blaze

The Blaze is a magazine created by Glenn Beck, a TV and radio personality with conservative, right-wing political viewpoints. He considers himself to be pro-Constitution, anti-progressivism, and anti-“big government”, which his publications often reflect. Beck’s TV station is also called The Blaze. His shows are not often without an element of controversy, as he seeks to make known the true political agenda, from his perspective.

The May 2014 issue of The Blaze magazine featured a cover story titled “Collective: Common Core’s Threat to Our Kids, Our Freedom, and Our Future”. This article was written by Chris Fields. Fields is listed as an executive editor and co-creator of the magazine.

The Text

This magazine cover features an image of a large chalkboard, resembling one you may see in a school classroom, with a handful of students sitting at tables in front of it. The students look to be around 10 years of age, so I can deduce that they are probably in third or fourth grade. The title of the magazine is printed in bright red font, and is the largest text visible on the cover. Above the title, there is a black bar divided into four sections. Each section features a snippet from an article from inside this issue of the magazine. Then, on the chalkboard, we see the title of the cover story. This is printed to look like it was written inside a thought bubble on the chalkboard. There are also smaller thought bubbles, which appear to be emanating from the students’ heads. The target audience of this particular publication is parents of school-aged American children.

The Subtext

This cover portrays an image of America’s youth being “threatened” by the implementation of Common Core standards. The thought bubbles give us the impression that each student in the classroom is having these same thoughts about Common Core. It portrays to the reader that the average American child, who could belong to me or you, is in danger of having their freedom stripped from them and their future jeopardized. If you had never heard of Common Core before seeing the magazine cover, you would now have an image of something terrible. This image would be perpetuated by the use of the word “collective”, indicating that everyone feels this way regarding Common Core.

Reality?

I do not believe that this magazine cover is a realistic representation of the topic of Common Core. For starters, only one viewpoint is portrayed here. It is unfair to use the word “collective”, because not everyone will agree that Common Core is endangering the future and freedoms of our nation’s children. This article, and the entire magazine as far as I can tell, is extremely biased. The editors and writers clearly have an agenda that they are trying to push by using words on the cover such as “truth”, “fear”, “persecution”, “threat”, “freedom”, and “future”. These buzz words are used to incite a feeling of panic in the reader that unless things change (to align with the belief system of the magazine staff), we are in for a very scary future. To me this is fear mongering.

Persuasive Techniques

On this magazine cover, I see evidence of many persuasive techniques being employed. Bandwagon, due to the use of the word “collective” and the illustration that suggests all students think this way regarding Common Core. Celebrity Spokesperson, since Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame is mentioned. Emotional Appeals, by using words such as “threat” and “fear”. No one wants to see those words on a cover depicting young children. Glittering Generalities, because they are purporting that their beliefs regarding freedom and truth are the only ones that hold value. Loaded Language, once again regarding the use of the scary buzz words. And finally Plain Folk, because the students in this classroom could belong to any average American family.

Fields, Chris. "May 2014." The Blaze. 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.

"Glenn Beck." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.