Contemporary responses to war: Chicks In the Line of Fire

1. How effective is the headline?

The headline of the article is quite effective as it draws people in because of the play on words it has used. The author has used the word “Chicks” to represent the Dixie Chicks. This attracts more audience because of the use of the informal language. Also the way that the author wrote the words “in the Line of Fire” represents the fact that the Dixie Chicks have been in a lot of trouble lately, but it also refers to that fact that the author is talking a bit about war.

2. The journalist has chosen not to include an extensive byline. Do you think this is a good decision? Explain your answer.

I think that this is a good idea, because some of the content within the article is quite confronting to some people. Also many people have had problems with the Dixie Chicks, so the author could become another person of attack if people know a lot about her.

3. How does the introductory paragraph help your understanding of what the article will be about?

It makes reference to the things that the Dixie Chicks said to get this whole incident started. It also give as brief introduction on the members of the Dixie Chicks, and there beliefs as well as what they stand for, as this is very important to know in order to understand the article.

4. What kind of tone do you think the journalist is trying to achieve? Provide examples to explain your answer.

The author has both a plain fact stating tone the same as a news reporter would have. But at times there is sympathy in her voice as she is trying to defend the Dixie Chicks. There is also a bit of anger when she is describing what people thought about the Dixie Chicks. For example when the author writes, “As proof, the first single from the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking the Long Way (out May 23), is called Not Ready to Make Nice. It is, as one country radio programmer says, "a four-minute f___-you to the format and our listeners. I like the Chicks, and I won't play it." Few other stations are playing Not Ready to Make Nice, and while it has done well on iTunes, it's quite possible that in singing about their anger at people who were already livid with them and were once their target audience” you can see in this segment of the article that the author has some feelings of disgust towards the things that people were saying about the Dixie Chicks.

5. What do you think the journalist's purpose was in writing this article? Provide examples to help prove your answer.

I think that the writers purpose of writing this article was to defend and justify the things that the Dixie Chicks have been through. You can tell this because at the end of the article you feel like the Dixie Chicks were the good side whilst everyone else who was attacking them was wrong.

6. The journalist makes considerable use of direct quotations throughout the article. How does this affect your understanding of the article and influence your opinion of the band members? Use evidence to support your claims.

A lot of the quotations in the article make you feel like you were part of the argument as you heard all the sides and were witnessing everything. This effect influences the way you feel about the band members because you feel as though you know all the facts and then you decide that the Dixie Chicks were actually good and they were just standing up for what they believed in.

7. How effective do you think this article is in achieving the journalist's purpose? Explain your answer in full please.

I think that the writer was very successful in achieving her purpose because as I said before the purpose of the article was to defend and justify the actions of the Dixie Chicks. This purpose was achieved because at the end of the article I felt like the Dixie Chicks were in the wrong and that all those things that people did to them was disgusting behavior.