MichaelDudley

ProfessorVaughn
HonorsInt.Composition
22October,2014
EbolaandtheLivingDead:BelievingintheLatestOutbreak

What makes something believable? In a world where books,

shows, and movies about zombies, robots, and lasers thrive, there
must be some way to separate fiction from fact. In many instances,
current news headlines such as, Ebola Zombies: Dead Man Wakes up
Just Before Burial speak of real stories more outrageous than the most
popular fictions (Minnie Nair, International Business Times). Other
publications, such as a journal article or fact sheet, present their
information with a clarity that makes the sources credibility seem
beyond doubt. The ability to think critically of a subject or its source is
what keeps the monsters in our closet at bay. In order to better
determine the credibility of a source, one must look at it irrespective of
its content. What makes something believable is not what it says, but
how and by whom it presents this information.
A journal article, news story, and fact sheet by the WHO (World
Health Organization) have little in common besides their subject, the
Ebola Virus Disease. The titles of these three vastly different genres

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show just how little they have in common. However, the target
audience of each source is easily identified with this information. The
aforementioned news article courtesy of the International Business
Times has a title that alludes to the fears and delights of popular
human culture. With shows like The Walking Dead being viewed by
over 17 million Americans, the idea of a zombie apocalypse is in the
minds of many; the news site looked to capture on this popularity in
order to get the virtual, culturally-aware passerby to read a few more
lines ('The Walking Dead' Season 5 Premiere Breaks Ratings Record As
The Most Watched Cable Show Of All Time, Forbes.com). In contrast,
the article found in Biochemical and Biophysical Research
Communications entitled Involvement of Viral Envelope GP2 in Ebola
Virus Entry into Cells Expressing the Macrophage Galactose-type Ctype Lectin does not lend itself to accessibility by the common Netflix
patron. The journal articles title conveys information specific to a very
particular discourse community of research doctors, an already small
market without such included distinctions (Katsuaki Usami, et alia). The
WHOs fact sheet, simply titled Ebola Virus Disease, suggests the
publication is for anyone who wants more information on the topic.
Names (as well as the content itself) can also suggest or divulge the
intended purpose of the author(s).
While the two medical publications serve to educate, IBTs news
story was not created for that purpose. The story is not pure text, with

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many links to other reports, news sites, as well as a portal to the WHO
fact sheet. The body serves little to the concept of education; it is a
summary of an article from a completely different news firm, an
attempt to capitalize on another networks findings. The piece features
anecdotal information on eyewitness accounts, citing a video (sending
a different message) as proof that the dead are rising in Africa.
Whereas the two other publications (though also found online) have no
links whatsoever. The dichotomy between the WHO and journal article
is that the medical review was published in print first as part of a larger
work, whereas the WHO sheet has always been for online access. In
certain situations, purpose is not related to the content within, but the
medium in which it is displayed.
One of the easiest ways to distinguish genres purpose is to look
at the medium in which they are presented. With online sources and
publications, advertisements are the name of the game; the more ads
on a site, the higher presumed traffic. A news story on a site with a
high percentage of ads (such as International Business Times) may be
more click-fodder than brain-food. The many links, toolbars, and
sidebars each act as rabbit-holes to no identifiable end; the preferred
end perhaps being the browser buying a product or subscribing to a
service. With no advertisements whatsoever, the WHO fact sheet is
intended simply to educate its presumed audience, no incitation or
persuasion necessary. Additionally, I accessed the journal article via an

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online educational database specifically designed to only offer the
most relevant sources for research. Thus, it can only be derived that
the article is an educational medium of research (for both writer and
reader). Though much in respect to purpose can be gleaned from these
details, the quandary of credibility remains yet.
TheconceptsofEthos,Pathos,andLogoshelpinanalysisofsourcesand
determiningtheirtruecredibility.WithrootsinGreekphilosophy,theverynotionbehind
thesewordsisanalyticalinnature;Ethosspeakingonthebelievabilityoftheauthor.
Authorsuseavarietyofdevicesinordertoappearmorecredibleintheeyesoftheir
intendedaudience.Onesuchtechniqueisthedisciplineoftone,orthewayinwhicha
writerapproachesandaddressestheaudience.Dependingonthetoneofapiece,an
authororpublishermaymaketheillusionthatheorsheiswalkingrightalongsideonthe
readerorsubjectsliteraryjourney;inthenewsgenre,thiscanbedonebyembedding.If
thejournalistseesalloftheaction,theydescribewhateverintensescenewiththedetail
andemotionofabystander.However,inothergenres,suchasscholarlyjournalarticles,
theideaistoremoveemotioncompletelyinordertopresentcold,hardfacts.Inthis
genre,thecredentialsoftheauthorsmaydomoretoestablishtheircredibilitythanany
forewordspeakingonpersonalinvolvementoremotionalattachment.Thetwoextremes
serveapurpose,andareabletoconvincereaderstotrustthewordsonthepage.Afeature
foundinbothgenresisthecedingofopposingopinionsordata.Thenewsstoryopensup
withanacknowledgmentthat,[while]itiseasytodiscardall"Ebolazombie"stories
ashoaxesandmoveon,thisstoryisworthlookingoverasecondtime(1).Journal

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articlesdothisbyacknowledgingadifferenceorevenabsenceinresults;thebiomedical
articleendsoneofitsfirstparagraphsbystating,However,itremainsunknownwhether
GP2isinvolvedinthedifferentinfectivityofZEBOVandREBOVinCtypelectin
expressingcells.(74).Itisalsoimportantthatthescholarlyarticlehasbeenpennedby
notone,butsixwriters/researchers;thenoteduniversitysponsorshipofalladdstothe
credibilityofeachandtothepieceitself.Thoughthishappensattheoutsetofmost
pieces,theconceptoflogicalappealpermeatesthisandthefactsheetgenremorethan
thenewsstory.
Logosisanyliteraturesappealtostrengthenthelogicofanargument;inmany
waysthiscanbedonebestbyorganizationofcoldhardfacts.Boththefactsheetand
journalarticleaccomplishthiseasily(whileindifferentways),asthisconcepttieswith
theirpurpose.Bothpiecesfeatureasummaryorabstract,inwhichkeyfactsand
discussiontopicsareshowcased.Inadditiontothissimilarity,thefollowingsections
(titledBackgroundandIntroductionrespectively)goontodescribethevirus
pathology,itsdifferentspecies,andgeneralresultsoftheoutbreak.Wherethetwogenres
differinthisrealmisinlanguageused;thearticleutilizesjargonspecifictoitsdiscourse
community,quicklydetailingtheproteinstructureofthevirus.Conversely,theWHO
factsheetuseslanguagethatallnativeEnglishspeakers(withastandardlevelof
education)canunderstand,anddoesnotincludedetailsthatarenotimportantforthe
generalpublictoknow.Thenewsarticledoesinfactincludesimilarinformation,but
doessoattheendofitsreport,withthebeginningtakenupbygenrespecific,
sensationalizingtactics.

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Pathosistheideaofapiecesappealtotheaudiencesfeelingsandemotions;
whilemorescientificgenresaimtoeliminatethisconcept,othersthriveonitaspartof
theirdesign.Withemotionsbeingconsideredessentialtothehumanexperience,itmakes
senseforourchroniclerstodetailandprojecthowtheyorthepublicfeelaboutany
subject.Newsstoriesaresimplynotaseffectiveinconveyingideaswhentheyfailto
includeanyemotionalinformation.TheIBTarticleiseffectiveinthisway,asit
illustratesthepanicsurroundingEbola,aswellastheuninformed(ormisinformed),yet
experiencedAfricanpublic.Aquotefromabystanderoftheresurrectionstatedthat,
"Wecouldn'tgethimhelpwhenhewasalive,anunidentifiedlocalmanwasquotedas
sayingbyABC.Theyonlycomewhenyoudie(2).Thatkindofaccountboth
illustratesandcreatesapragmaticfearofthisdisease;thespreadisbecomingso
paramountthatemergencyservicesonlycometocollectthebodiesofthedead.The
scenedescribedafterwardsonlyservestoillicitmorediscomfortastheseeminglydead
man,afterbeingsprayedwithbleachandmovedtoaplasticsheet,startstomove.
Thoughtheheadlineisaclassicexampleofoverexaggeratedsensationalism,thecontent
therewithiscreditedassomeonesrealexperienceandfeelingsaboutthediseaseand
humansresponse.
Inshort,onesubject(theEbolaVirusDisease)canelicitahostofdifferent
literaryresponsesbasedonresearch,alreadyknownfacts,andthehumanconditionitself.
Thebelievabilityofaworkbelongingtoaspecificgenrecanbeinfluencedbyavariety
offactors,fromhowthepieceisorganized,tothesourceinwhichitisfound.However,
todiscountonegenreoveranotherwithoutfirstrecognizingtheirpossibledifferences

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wouldbeunethical;thepieceinquestionmaysucceedinonesenseaslargelyasitfailsin
adifferentone.Ajournalarticlecanprovideasmuchinformationforadoctorsneedsas
afactsheetprovidesaworryingparent.Anewsarticlemaystrikefearintotheheartofa
teenager,whileagovernmentofficialacquiresthesamefearfromaWHOreport.Inorder
tobestusegenresasthevastlyvariedresourcestheyare,onemustfirstknowofwhathe
orsheisinpursuit.Onlythencanthequestionofbelievabilitybeaddressed.

WorksCited
"EbolaVirusDisease."WHO.WorldHealthOrganization,Sept.2014.Web.20Oct.2014.
<http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/>.
Nair,Minnie."EbolaZombies:DeadManWakesupJustBeforeBurial
[VIDEO]."InternationalBusinessTimesRSS.InternationalBusinessTimes,3Oct.2014.
Web.20Oct.2014.<http://www.ibtimes.co.in/ebolazombiesdeadmanwakesjust
beforeburialvideo610491>.

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St.John,Allen."'TheWalkingDead'Season5PremiereBreaksRatingsRecordAsTheMost
WatchedCableShowOfAllTime."Forbes.ForbesMagazine,13Oct.2014.Web.20
Oct.2014.<http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenstjohn/2014/10/13/thewalkingdead
season5premierebreaksratingsrecordasthemostwatchedcableshowofalltime/>.
Usami,Katsuaki,KeitaMatsuno,ManabuIgarashi,KaoriDendaNagai,AyatoTakada,and
TatsuroIrimura."InvolvementofViralEnvelopeGP2inEbolaVirusEntryintoCells
ExpressingtheMacrophageGalactosetypeCtypeLectin."BiochemicalandBiophysical
ResearchCommunications407.1(2011):7478.ScienceDirect.Web.13Oct.2014.