Post 2

There are many cultural contexts that play large roles in the understanding, organization, writing, and reading of The New York Times. When reading the articles in The New York Times the reader needs to have a basic or general knowledge of what is going in the world at that point in time, especially of current political doings and news. In addition to knowing what is going on in the world, it is imperative that the reader also have a basic or general knowledge of who plays what role in our society, or even the world for that matter. The reader must also have some knowledge of what has happened, what is going on, what is proposed to happen, etc and when these things have, will, or should take place. In addition to knowing when, the reader must also know where these events have, will, might, or should take place. Most important of all though, the reader needs to have at least a vague grasp on the reasons why these events are occurring in our world.

It is crucial to the understanding and comprehension of this website and all of its references that the reader is able to understand at least one of the who, what, when, where, and why of the article or video that they choose to read or view. If the reader does not understand at least one of these crucial cultural contexts, the reader will not be able to follow anything in the article with ease, or even have a vague understanding of what they have just read. If the reader understands the who of what they are reading or watching on the website then it is easier for them to figure out or at least attempt to piece together the other major components necessary for complete understanding of it. If it is the what that is understood by the reader prior to viewing something on the website, then it is easy to figure out the who, the when, the where, and the why. It is like this for the other crucial cultural components that are necessary in the understanding and comprehension of the content of what they are reading or viewing on the website; if the reader understands or has some knowledge of at least one then they are more likely to be able to piece together the others.

If the person who is either reading or viewing an article or a video clip on The New York Times website has no idea what is going on in our country, who is involved in what, what is happening where, why events are occurring, and other various things like that, then it is not possible for them to have a complete understanding or comprehension of the references of the website. As was mentioned above, the reader or viewer needs to have a vague knowledge or notion about or of at least one of the cultural contexts; the who, the what, the when, the where, and the why. If they understand at least one of these it is easier for them to pick up on the other ones and piece them together to form the bigger picture and have a better understanding of what is going on.

Post 1

My boyfriend is in the Colorado Army National Guard and has been since he was 17, before we started dating. We have been together for almost a year now and he means the world to me; which is why it is very important for me to know what is going on in the world, especially when it concerns the military and their involvement in the war. He is currently in training so it is hard for him to get news and stay up-to-date with all of the news surrounding the war. He is told what the military is willing to tell him so he appreciates being informed about all of the issues. In order to keep both my boyfriend and myself informed I frequently visit the website for The New York Times.

The first thing that you see when you go to the website for The New York Times is the title in big, bold words at the top of the page as well as navigational tabs that will take you to specific sections of the website. After reading the title of the website, the website viewer’s eye is caught by the big picture below it in the center of the page that is linked to an important article in that specific issue of the paper. The picture is used to get more reader’s attention and get more people to read it. In addition to the picture in the center of the page, there are article titles in big, bold print with a one or two sentence excerpts from the article that are meant to catch the reader’s attention and get them interested in the article so they will click on the title to read to full-length article.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page there is a large picture that happens to be a paused video clip. Below the paused clip are the different options for what video news headline you would like to watch, there is one for almost every section of the paper; politics, dining, style, etc. The reader can pick and choose which video headline they would like the view by simply clicking on the thumbnail of it. Below the video clips there are the top headlines from the week and around the world for reader’s to click on and read if they are interested in the article. As well as the video clips and bolded titles with excerpts, there are sections running down the left side of the page that the viewer can select, allowing them to navigate through that section of the paper.

The website for The New York Times differs from the print version of it because it is more interactive for the reader. The reader can view video clips of today’s most important headlines, view the most popular articles, or even look at past articles in comparison to more recent ones, among many other ways for viewing information. This is the website that I used to stay up-to-date with the news that is important to both me and my boyfriend, it is easy to navigate and find the information that I want.