در صورتی که اشکالی در ترجمه می بینید می توانید از طریق شماره زیر در واتساپ نظرات خود را برای ما بفرستید
09331464034
Topic:
Since those issues of Newsbeat magazine that featured political news on their front cover were the poorest-selling issues over the past three years, the publisher of Newsbeat has recommended that the magazine curtail its emphasis on politics to focus more exclusively on economics and personal finance. She points to a recent survey of readers of general interest magazines that indicates greater reader interest in economic issues than in political ones. Newsbeat's editor, however, opposes the proposed shift in editorial policy, pointing out that very few magazines offer extensive political coverage anymore.
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
از آنجایی که آن شماره مجله Newsbeat که اخبار سیاسی را روی جلد خود قرار می داد، کم فروش ترین شماره در طول سه سال گذشته بود، ناشر Newsbeat توصیه کرده است که این مجله تاکید خود را بر روی سیاست کاهش دهد تا بیشتر به اقتصاد ومسایل مالی شخصی اختصاص یابد. وی به نظرسنجی اخیر خوانندگان مجلات با علاقه عمومی اشاره دارد که نشانگر علاقه بیشتر خوانندگان به مسائل اقتصادی نسبت به مسائل سیاسی است. با این حال سردبیر Newsbeat با تغییر طرح پیشنهادی در سیاست تحریریه مخالفت می کند و اشاره می کند که تعداد کمی از مجلات دیگر پوشش سیاسی گسترده ای را ارائه می دهند.
پاسخی بنویسید که در آن درباره اینکه چه سوالاتی باید پاسخ داده شود تا تصمیم بگیرید که آیا پیش بینی و استدلالی که بر آن استوار است منطقی است یا نه. حتماً توضیح دهید که چگونه پاسخ این سوالات به ارزیابی پیش بینی کمک می کند.
Strategies
A good place to start your analysis is by creating a statement that reveals the main idea of the argument. Although the writer is creating an argument, he may ultimately be stating a position, making a recommendation, or making a prediction. It may be helpful for you to determine which of these formats is most evident in the argument.
In order to revive sales of Newsbeat, the publisher, against the advice of the editor, suggests shifting the magazines' focus from politics to economics and personal finance.
Assumptions:
a) Political news on the cover rather than other content is responsible for decreased sales of certain issues of the magazine.
b) Readers of general interest magazines will begin to read Newsbeat if the magazine changes its focus.
c) Sales of Newsbeat magazine will rise if it features more stories about economics and personal finance.
d) There is room in the marketplace for another magazine with a focus on economics and personal finance.
e) Sales of magazines that feature articles on economics and personal finance are higher than sales of Newsbeat.
Questions that need answers in order to decide whether the recommendation and argument are reasonable:
a) What other factors may have contributed to lower sales of those issues?
b) Were those poorest-selling issues published in the same year, or were they evenly distributed over the three-year period?
c) Has the magazine surveyed its own readers to learn their preferences?
d) How many issues feature political news on their covers?
e) Were any of those years’ election years?
f) Does Newsbeat have staff writers capable of writing about economics and personal finance?
g) Is there a market for another magazine that focuses on economics and personal finance?
h) Have magazines that feature articles about economics and personal finance continued to sell well?
i) Why is there an apparently strong interest in information about economics and personal finance?
After completing these steps, you should have enough material to write your analysis. Remember that you are not creating a position of your own; you are evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the existing argument. You do not have to include all of the points that you have created in your prewriting. In fact, during the process of drafting your analysis, other ideas may come to mind, and, if they strengthen your analysis, you should include them.
Sample 1:
The publisher of Newsbeat magazine should not be too hasty to change the format of the publication. Using a survey of readers of general interest magazines to determine the future course of Newsbeat is akin to comparing apples to oranges. Before making costly changes, this publisher should ask several important questions that will help her determine the editorial decisions she should make to improve Newsbeat's circulation.
Did the three-year dip in sales occur in the period between national elections? It's logical to expect that interest in political news would peak during election years and wane in the other three years. The publisher does not reveal whether or not this three-year dip is typical throughout the magazine's history. If that is, indeed, the case, the publisher and editor should make decisions about some changes in focus during the dips and continue to focus on politics during the fourth year. The focus on politics may not be the real reason for the dip in sales. Are the articles poorly written, or do they express unpopular opinions? They may not be objective enough, offending half of the potential readers. The articles may not be timely, or they may be too regional in nature.
Has Newsbeat conducted its own survey of readers? If Newsbeat wants information about the preferences of its reader, the magazine should conduct its own survey. The questions on the survey cited in the argument may have been worded to elicit specific answers. Using survey results out of context can be misleading. Just because readers of general interest magazines prefer articles about economics and personal finance to articles about politics may not indicate that the same is true for readers of Newsbeat. In fact, the respondents may prefer articles about fashion or entertainment above all others, and articles about economics may be very near the bottom of their list of favorites. They may not buy Newsbeat whatever its focus.
Focusing on economics and personal finance may increase Newsbeat's circulation, but that may be short-lived if the articles are poorly written. Does Newsbeat have writers on its staff that are capable of writing in depth about those topics? If Newsbeat is forced to hire writers whose expertise is in the field of finance, the expense may not be offset by increased sales. Alternatively, the publisher may be forced to lay off seasoned political writers to hire finance writers, and, when she needs them during election years, they will not be available. This strategy could result in a death spiral for Newsbeat.
Looking at the periodicals section of a grocery store or book store reveals the wide variety of genres available. There's something for everyone. As a corollary, there must be someone for everything. There must be an audience for a news magazine. The method used by that audience to gain access to magazines has changed. Has Newsbeat tried another format to attract readers? Like so many other publications, Newsbeat may have to create an online presence. They may have to use some form of social media to increase exposure to the magazine. If Newsbeat has not made subscriptions available in the past, perhaps they should do so now.
Are poor sales of issues with political topics featured on the cover a cause for great concern? If the magazine is published every month, 36 issues would have appeared in a three-year span. If one or two per year featured political stories, the lower sales of those particular issues should not be the only reason to change the magazine's focus. For any issue to have the poorest sales in any given year, the sales total only has to be one dollar less than the next- lowest-selling issue. The publisher may be overstating her case for change.
Based on current trends in periodicals and the manner in which people gain access to information of any kind, not only Newsbeat, but every magazine may be in peril. Any change that the publisher and editor can agree on should be taken with caution. Depending on the answers to important questions, they may be saving this magazine, and they may be throwing good money after bad in an effort to increase circulation.
Sample 2:
The memorandum issued by the publisher of Newsbeat suggests reducing emphasis on the publishing of international news in order increase its sale. This suggestion is based on the observation that the magazine featuring international news on its cover page has seen poor sales in the past three years. On the other hand, other competitive magazines have decreased reporting of international news on the cover page at the same period of time. Taking a clue from them, the publisher suggests cutting down on their international news. Moreover, it has become expensive to maintain foreign bureaus for reporting international news and it is best to decrease the importance given to international news and cut the extra cost.
This is, however, not a wisely thought over suggestion. First of all, the publisher has not thought logically over the reason behind the decrease in sale of the magazine in the last three years. In the argument it is said that the issues that feature international news on the front page have seen poorest-sales. However, no mention is made of the type of news that was published. The sale of a magazine depends upon the weight a piece of news carries. If there has not been any international activity worth the attention of the readers, it is foolish to put it on the cover page. This magazine will obviously see poor sales. On the other hand, if the international news is so big that it overshadows all other news stories, it needs to be on the covers. The memorandum, however, does not mention the nature of the news stories published in the magazines.
There is another way of looking at the reduced sale of these issues of the magazine. If there has been a national event that has gathered a lot of attention, the readers will like to read more about that event. In such a case, if a magazine ignores the event and focuses on an international story, it will surely not be sold. The observation made in the argument does not consider this aspect and thus the reason behind the reduced sale of international news cannot be confirmed.
The argument also mentions that over the same period of time other competitive magazines have decreased the number of international stories in their issues. Whether this is because they have also experienced a decrease in their sales or for some other reason is not mentioned in the argument. It is likely that other magazines are not able to bear the cost of supporting an international bureau or they have changed their strategy to focus on a particular class of readers. This decision cannot be equated to the decrease in sale of issues of Newsbeat. It is also not known if this change has benefited these magazines in terms of increase in sales or not. Moreover, what has proved good for one magazine may not prove good for another. If other magazines have gained from reducing their international news it may not be the same for Newsbeat as well.
Lastly, the memorandum says that there is an increase in the cost of maintaining foreign bureaus and it would be best to reduce the emphasis given to international news. This can be a way of reducing the cost of publishing the magazine, but it is not a solution of the decrease in sales. Instead of reducing the cost of production, it is better to focus on the quality of news reports being published by the magazine. After the above discussion, the memorandum presented by the publisher seems lacking in logical reasoning and surely does not present a sure shot solution of the problem.
نظرات کاربران
هنوز نظری درج نشده است!
