Contacting my OP-ED Writer

My Original Email to Jessica Bennett:

Hi Ms. Bennett,

I am a junior in high school and in my AP English class we have created blogs. Our assignment was to pick an OP-ED writer and analyze some of their articles. I read through some of your articles and I found them very interesting, and I like your style of writing. Our latest assignment was to pick an article that the OP-ED writer wrote and shape an argument. I read your article, The Problem with Women on Reality TV, http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/11/the-problem-with-women-on-reality-tv.html. I then picked out what I thought was your claim and concession in the article. Then I found supports for your claim and stated whether I agreed or disagreed with the article. The link to my blog is http://paulinecdearing.blogspot.com/ if you would like to check it out. I was wondering if you had any related issues to your article that you would like to share with me, like the women's role in society or how reality television has affected people? Or if you think there are any other articles you have written that you think would help me in learning how to shape an argument? Any advice at all on being an OP-ED writer or any tips you have for students learning to write would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you so much for your time!

Pauline Dearing

Shaping An Argument

The Problem With Women on Reality TV by Jessica Bennett
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/11/the-problem-with-women-on-reality-tv.html

Bennett's claim is "Today's reality entertainment is a lot more like fiction."

Bennett's concession is "None of this is to say that reality TV is not entertaining-because, let's be honest, it is."

Supports for Bennett's claim:

1. "If your main source of knowledge about women came from reality TV, this is how you'd see the world: a place where your mom is a conniving, deceitful gold digger, your sisters and girlfriends vicious and catty."

2. "In the real world, the state of today's women actually looks something like the opposite."

3. "It's worth a laugh, except that the implications of that imagery can be serious, as even the trashiest, most scripted reality show can influence how we see the world."

Support for Bennett's statement that "In the real world, the state of today's women actually looks something like the opposite."

• Fact: 75% of creators, executive producers, writers, and directors on a majority of reality TV shows are men.
• Example: The year the Condoleeza Rice is named national- security advisor (2000) the show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionair? debuts.
• Example: In 2003, as Michelle Kwan and Serena Williams scored record-breaking sports wins, UPN decided to unveil America's Next Top Model.
• Quotes from Jennifer Pozner who wrote the book, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV.
• Anecdotal story of the disaster of the reality TV show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?

I agree with Bennett's opinion in her article. I do believe that reality television does not always accurately depict real life. Women are often displayed as conniving, ignorant, jealous, and greedy. There are women out there who are exactly like what reality shows portray; however, I believe that the majority of women in the world are not as jealous and ignorant and greedy as these shows claim they are. I also agree with Bennett when she said that reality television can start to affect how we see real life. The different stereotypes of women and men can lead us to be judgmental in our everyday lives. Also, Bennett's concession has some truth to it. While many people condone reality television for being nothing but trash and fiction, those same people can't stop watching it and find it quite entertaining. I myself love watching America's Next Top Model and The Real World, but I don't approve of the behavior of the people on the shows or the cattiness displayed. I think that it's okay for people to enjoy watching reality television, but we can't let it affect how we treat people in real life.

The Parent's Role in Teen Bullying

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/14/are-we-teaching-our-kids-to-be-bullies.html

Jessica Bennett's article is called "Are We Teaching Our Kids to be Bullies?". It is about how kids can not take all the blame for bullying since they learn most of their actions from their parents. The article reflects on the idea that parents are not doing enough to stop bullying and some are taking the wrong steps in trying to prevent bullying.

There have been many recent cases of bullying and teen suicides such as the cases of Phoebe Prince, Tyler Clementi, and Sharon Velasquez. Bennett felt that all these recent cases of bullying called for an examination of the parent's role in these situations. Bennett chose to write this article to encourage readers to realize what is going on right now with teens and bullying and show how teens can not take all the blame for their actions.

Bennet's stance on the bullying situation is that she does not justify any of the teen's actions when it comes to verbally or physically bullying others. However, she does feel that these teens learn from their parents and that some parents are not setting a good example for their children. She also feels that some parents are not taking the right approach in attempting to stop the bullying. She explains that some parents are threatening the kids who bully their kids which is only encouraging violence.

Facts, reasons, and examples Bennett uses to persuade the reader:

• The story of Sharon Velasquez. Sharon was one of the bullies who caused Phoebe Prince to commit suicide. Sharon and her family are now receiving death threats and hateful notes from people all across the country, adults and children. 
• The case of Michael Clementi. The two people who exposed Clementi's sexuality and caused him to commit suicide now have a facebook page that says they should be executed.
• Story of a man in Florida who climbed on his daughter's school bus and threatened to kill all the kids who were bullying his daughter.
• Story of a man in Wisconsin who head-butted the kids bullying his son and punched a gym teacher. 
• Study of 14,000 college students who said this generation is 40% less empathetic than the coeds of three decades ago. 
• Quotes from Sameer Hinduja, the co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center and Rachel Simmons, the author of Odd Girl Out.

One technique that Bennett uses effectively is her use of numerous examples with sources to back them up. Bennett gives her opinion of the parent's role in teen bullying but describes multiple stories that support her opinion. Also, with every story, Bennett uses a quote from a reliable source which makes her opinion even more valid. The stories and quotes are effective because they  make the reader feel like the author knows what they are talking about and have credibility to speak about a certain topic. The stories also draw attention  to the article and make it more interesting to read.  

Jessica Bennett on the New Year's Eve Show with Carson Daly

Jessica Bennett

Jessica Bennett

Jessica Bennett is an OP-ED writer for Newsweek Magazine. 

Bennett won first prize from the Newswomen's Club of New York for her story on looksism at work in 2010. She was also honored by the New York Press Club with the Nellie Bly Award for her 2009 story about the Dark Side of the Web. Her story was entitled "A Tragedy that Won't Fade Away".

Covering stories on society, youth culture and gender, Bennett is a senior writer for Newsweek. She produces special reports, multimedia packages, and commentary as well. 

She's a good public speaker and appeared on the New Year's Eve show with Carson Daly to discuss the  global and news worthy events of the past ten years.

Known as a feminist, many of Bennett's stories focus on women's role in society.