Journal 2

Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation relates specifically to situations that exist and require response. He emphasizes urgency with a call to action. A medium of rhetoric that exemplifies Bitzer’s Situation is the modern day newspaper. News can be sent out instantaneously and is often driven by urgency. While journalist should strive to be unbiased, news does have a tendency to persuade the readers views subconsciously. Biter also focuses on audience and specific types of newspapers have specific types of audiences. While there are newspapers that target the general audiences, things like demographic, location, and situation might sway who is reading.

Edbauer does not disagree with Bitzer, but rather sees his theory to be more flexible than he created it to be. She acknowledges a need for an audience and purpose, however she does not see that those things need to be singular static components. Much like Bitzer’s audience, Edbauer compares it to the ecology she emphasizes in her argument. She sees that the placement of a work is the most important aspect of it. She sees that it becomes a part of the system and adds to the already existing content within that community. Her biggest emphasis is on fluidity.

A real life example of Edbauer’s Rhetorical Ecology is anything in pop culture that sparks a community. Modern social media has made the development of rhetorical Ecologies easier and faster. Nowadays, readers can easily enter rhetorical conversation through instantaneous tweets, custom merchandise on website like Redbubble, or specific websites devoted to those cultures. Harry Potter, Hamilton the Musical, and Breaking Bad are all different mediums and genres that have inspired expanding communities beyond the original work.
Another recent example, is Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." Much like the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign, people who disagree with the original statement have taken that same fonts and designs to change a single word in the phrase. A common change people have been making is "Make America Gay Again" or "Make America Kind Again."

Bitzer and Edbauer both agree upon a need for audience and purpose, however Bitzer’s lines from writer to reader are more static than Edbauer’s. Edbauer blurs writer to reader lines as well as crosses multiple mediums.

I would say I most agree with Edbauer. I feel like writers have a social responsibility to engage in common conversation. It seems very easy to be as static as Bitzer, but communities grow when they build rhetorical ecologies that spark fluid cycles.