Rhetorical Case Paper 3/23/09

The focus of my paper and my ideas about my topic have changed a lot throughout its development. I am an advertising and public relations major so I was interested in the influence of endorsements by both publications and public figures. I assumed that endorsements have some influence but I was unsure the extent of it. My research and analysis of sources has lead me to believe that an endorsement of any kind can have a huge impact for several reasons. One reason is that the public trusts certain sources to be reliable and trustworthy, such as a well known newspaper. People see it as the publication's responsibility to report the truth and accurate facts. People also tend to idolize many celebrities, which makes them more likely to listen to a celebrity's opinion on something. All of these ideas and perceptions of the media give it power to influence the publics ideas and decisions. This is why the media is able to influence people's opinions and votes in an election. The media does not necessarily have to portray one candidate as better than another to change people's opinions, they can just choose to cover one candidate and not another and have an effect.