Article 11/29 - The Gambit that is Black Friday

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304281004579217863262940166?mod=trending_now_2

This article from the Wall Street Journal talks about how Black Friday deals are not really deals. Retailers actually engineer the prices and discounts and then work backwards to the starting price so they have almost the same profits all the time. According to research of thirty one retailers, between the years of 2009-2012, the number of discounts available increased by 63%,  and the average discount value increased from 25 to 36%. But, while all this occurred the gross margins (difference between what they paid and the price at which they sold) hovered around 27.9% barely increasing or decreasing. This gambit is partially because people are hungry for a sale, whether or not it actually is one. For example, Penney's CEO, Ron Johnson, lost his job because he avoided the system of discounted high pricing and just stuck to low prices. This caused sales to drop because people did not see any "sale" sign. The purpose of this article is to inform about the strategies of retailers today and also the way the general populous shops. The intended audience is those interested in the idea of Black Friday, how retail companies work, and also general discount shopping. The author establishes ethos by backing up her argument with examples, and also being from the Wall Street Journal. Logos is established through statistics from many studies and quotes from interviews. Pathos is established by talking about the idea of how everyone likes to get a good deal. Overall I thought this was an interesting article and enjoyed reading it.

Article 11/17 - JFK

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/us/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-theories-debunked/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

This article from CNN talks about different conspiracy theories regarding the JFK assassination, and specifically a Dallas resident, Dave Perry, who has spent years researching the subject. He regards how there are numerous conspiracy theories regarding the assassination, but goes into detail about the five most famous ones that have circulated. Perry goes on to disprove four of the theories ranging from LBJ doing it to the "mob". The only one, he says, is tough to disprove is that the CIA ordered it. There's always ambiguity revolving around the CIA so there will never really be a way of finding out. The purpose of this article is to inform about and argue different conspiracy theories about the assassination of JFK. The intended audience is those interested in the subject and JFK. Perry establishes ethos since he has been researching the assassination for 37 years. He establishes logos through his extensive research. He establishes pathos by appealing to everyone general curiosity regarding the conspiracies. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article.

Article 11/10 - "IT WAS OUT", "NO IT WAS IN"

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/sports-make-final-call-on-technology-1292/

This article from the Wall Street Journal talks about the accuracy of technology used to measure where balls land in sports. The article specifically focuses on a company called Hawk-Eye which is used in many sports including tennis and soccer. The technology is used in situations in tennis when it is too close to call whether the ball was out, and in soccer when it is too close to call whether the ball crossed the goal line. In both situations the technology is very beneficial and trusted by most officials. The only problem is that because of how realistic the replays look to viewers, it is accepted that it is exactly where the ball landed. Overall this technology has a very slim chance for error and is widely accepted in many different applications. The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the growing use of technology to aid calls in sports. The intended audience is those who are interested in this subject or just sports or technology in general. The author of this article establishes very little ethos through being a credible writer on the Wall Street Journal, logos through different quotes and statistics from Hawk-Eye and other researchers, and pathos by presenting the article in such a way that is easy and relatable. We can all think of a game or match where no one was 100% sure whether that ball crossed the line and that's hopefully where this technology will help.