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Stacy Bateman

2/19/2018

ENG 101-05

Professor Maple

News Article Analysis: Polar Bear’s Dwindling Numbers

News outlets such as newspapers and renowned media websites are expected to

promote an unbiased approach in their articles so that the reader can draw their own

conclusions. Impartial factual data and analysis are favored as compared to the opinions

and conjectures of the author. However, many news networks still uphold an agenda so as

to sway the audience’s opinion, therefore utilizing subtle methods of persuasion such as

ethos, logos, and pathos. For instance, in the context of the decline of polar bears, a New

York Times article makes use of logos and data while a National Geographic article

detailing the physical state of polar bears employs pathos and takes advantage of the

emotional capacity of the reader. Despite the differing methods and overall tones utilized,

such as the latter article using more descriptive and emotionally evoking language while

the former focuses more on impersonally relaying objective information from a recent

study, the general theme remains the same - that is, polar bear populations are extremely

vulnerable and in rapid decline.

A recent study regarding the causation of the decline of polar bears came to the

conclusion that a vast number are starving due to their uniquely high metabolic rates as

well as shrinking ice requiring them to travel farther in search for food. They gained data

by measuring activity patterns, body condition, hunting success, and field metabolic rates

in an experimental group of polar bears and found an energy deficit in the majority of
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subjects studied. Kendra Pierre-Louis, the author of a New York Times article

summarizing the study, converts the scholarly and academic tones from the published

scientific analysis into a more humorous and relatable style. While the author relates the

scientific facts and data gathered from the study back to the reader, she also peppers her

own commentary throughout the article, such as, “While dieters around the world would

love to know the bears’ secret — to shave off a single pound in a day a human would

have to run a marathon without eating any more than usual — their high metabolism is

not necessarily a good thing…” This comment, while utilized in order to relate to the

overall audience, ultimately diminishes the impact of the study due to trivializing the

starvation of polar bears. The process of starvation is grotesque and sickening, and

comparing the plight of polar bears, some of which involuntarily lost up to ten percent of

their body weight, with dieters is incomprehensible. At the end of the article the author

concludes that the reader should not draw overarching conclusions regarding the study

due to it not being broad enough, thus finishing an otherwise dull and dry article on the

effects of global warming on polar bears.

The widely circulated and viral video showcasing an emancipated polar bear

rummaging through garbage in the polar regions of Canada has since pulled on many

peoples heartstrings due to its sensitive nature as well as the graphic depiction of

starvation and desperation. The polar bear’s back legs lag behind him as he drags himself

forward, thus exhibiting the full grotesqueness and explicitness of the effects of

starvation. The National Geographic article detailing this particular video embraces the

pathos aspect of the modes of persuasion rather than logos, therefore appealing to the

more emotional side of the reader in order to get their point across. They begin the article
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by detailing instances in the video, using language such as, “One of the bear's back legs

drags behind it as it walks, likely due to muscle atrophy. Looking for food, the polar bear

slowly rummages through a nearby trashcan used seasonally by Inuit fishers. It finds

nothing and resignedly collapses back down onto the ground.” as well as “But the

emaciated polar bear… was one of the most gut-wrenching sights he's ever seen.” These

examples further encompass the tragedy of the situation, drawing on the compassion of

the reader as the author then leads into the cause of why these animals are suffering. The

author then leads into an exposé on global warming by showing us the full extent this

global phenomenon has on the more vulnerable animal populations. Polar bears are

reliant upon ice in order to catch their prey, taking advantage of out of breath seals

needing to come up for air to grab them, and receding ice fields forces them to travel

greater distances as well as burn more energy storages when searching for food. The

article capitalizes on the growing concern of the decline of a relatively cute animal

species in order to further a particular agenda against global warming and for advocacy.

The two articles exemplified utilize different rhetoric to persuade the reader and

influence their opinion, with one following a more scientific route at the cost of seeming

callous while the other takes advantage of the compassion humans hold for other animals

and their adverseness towards animal’s suffering in order to push their own agenda.

Overall, the National Geographic article has the best persuasion techniques as it

genuinely evokes an emotional response from the reader, forcing them to acknowledge

the adverse effects of global warming in regards to polar bears. The New York Times

article does this as well, but not as effectively due to inappropriate comments meant to

weave humor into an otherwise dry article, in addition to the detached tone the author
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choose to use. The National Geographic article, however, is a call to action; acutely

conveying that the state of polar bears and ice caps are only going to get worse if no

serious conservation efforts are done to prevent it. She also mentions climate change

deniers to exemplify how scientific studies are often unjustly discredited and thusly

ignored. They downplay the threat to polar bear livelihood, thus furthering exacerbating

the problem in lieu of helping. The differences in rhetorical styles benefit each article in

distinct and contrasting ways; however, the type of style utilized can also detract from the

author’s message depending on how well it compliments the topic.

The vast majority of news outlets have an ingrained bias or a predetermined

judgment on particular topics, which causes them to shine a certain light on some issues

that may differ from other publishers. They utilize either language/writing style or the

modes of persuasion, i.e. ethos, logos, pathos, in order to persuade the reader to share

their opinion. Analyzing such biases in two articles surrounding polar bears, there are

vast differences, with one favoring logos in order to strengthen their notions while the

other uses pathos. Both are effective in relating the current state of polar bear

populations, however, the article focusing more on emotion further convinces the reader

to take action in reducing global warming, thus making it the better persuasive article.

The mode of persuasion used should reflect the topic at hand, for example, an article

detailing the effects of global warming should be heavily influenced by logic, or logos,

while another article describing the events in a video showcasing starvation should lean

towards the emotional spectrum, otherwise known as pathos. Thus, the diminishing

populations of polar bears strike an emotional cord with the reader, inspiring them to

advocate for change in the interest of the animal species that shares our planet.
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Works Cited

Gibbens, Sarah. “Heart-Wrenching Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless

Land.”National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 24 Dec. 2017,

news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/polar-bear-starving-arctic-sea-ice-melt-

climate-change-spd/.

Pierre-louis, Kendra. “What Cameras on Polar Bears Show Us: It's Tough Out

There.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Feb. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/climate/polar-bear-cameras.html.