1. Rewrite the article into yellow Journalism. Requirements:(The rewritten article contains emotional language, sensational content, and reads like a tabloid news story.The rewritten article matches the length of the original piece.)

Question

2. Identify three examples of language use in your rewrite that you think reflect the yellow journalism style. Requirements:(There are detailed answers for the question.The answer provided is appropriate for the question. The question offers sufficient evidence to support the answer.)

3. What did you do to turn the original piece from traditional journalism into yellow journalism? Be specific about your writing process. Requirements: (There is a detailed answer for the question. The answer provided is appropriate for the question. The question offers sufficient evidence to support the answer.)

CHICAGO — Democrats convene here amid destruction more comprehensive, deadly and intractable than that of 1871. The Great Fire hardly interrupted the city’s ascent. Today, however, Chicago suffers from the “blue model” of urban politics: government of, by and for government employee unions. Chicago is the nation’s warning.

The 28,000-member Chicago Teachers Union’s money and organization made Brandon Johnson, a former CTU organizer, mayor. The CTU’s political machine is as mighty as Mayor Richard J. Daley’s was, 1955-1976. The CTU, like the city council’s socialist caucus, has praised recent Venezuelan regimes, and echoed pro-Hamas supporters’ calls for an Israeli cease-fire. The CTU’s head, Stacy Davis Gates, sends her son to private school, as did 30.5 percent of Chicago’s public school teachers, 2018-2022.

Spending on public schools (more than $24,000 per student, not counting debt service and capital expenditures) has increased 107 percent since 2012, but proficiency in reading and math in grades 3-8 plummeted 63 percent and 78 percent, respectively. Only 22 percent of 11th- graders can read at grade level, only 19 percent do math at grade level. Black students’ percentages are 11 and 8. While school enrollment declined 9 percent in 2020-2022, spending increased 35.7 percent, with one unionized employee for every eight students.

The meticulous Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that chronicles and combats Chicago’s collapse, notes that one high school, built to accommodate 912 students, serves 35 students, but is getting eight new unionized staffers, bringing its total staff count to 30. The CTU, which insisted on closing schools during the pandemic, now opposes closing the 161 more-than-half-empty schools (26 percent of Chicago’s schools). But it wants to end the 11 selective enrollment high schools for “equity” reasons. Nearly half of these schools’ students are from low-income families, almost 60 percent are Black or Hispanic.

Student chronic absenteeism — missing at least 10 percent of school days — is 40 percent (46 percent for Black students), but even worse for CTU teachers, 43 percent of whom missed 10 or more days in the 2022-2023 school year. The CTU’s (leaked) more than 700 new contract demands include: 9 percent wage increases annually, 45 days off each year, police-free schools (see “school violence,” below), a 100 percent electric school-bus fleet, housing subsidies for teachers, a paid “climate champion” and a “gender-support coordinator” (or an LGBTQ+ specialist) in every school, and coverage for gender-affirming care. The CTU’s Gates stood at Richards Career Academy and vowed to create more schools like it. No student there tested proficient in reading or math on the state assessment last year.

The IPI says Chicago’s population has shrunk by more than a quarter since it peaked in 1950; in 2023, the city hit its lowest point since 1920. Cook County, which includes Chicago, lost 58,000 in 2023, the second-most of any U.S. county.

Chicago’s poverty rate is 36.5 percent higher than the U.S. average, the 12.7 Black unemployment rate is the highest among the 15 largest U.S. cities, the 10.25 sales tax is the highest of any major city, and combined city and state taxes would take over 12 percent of a U.S. median family income. Property tax levies have doubled in 10 years, and the downtown office vacancy rate — nearly 26 percent, a record — presages a doom loop: fewer people downtown, restaurants and retailers closing, the downward spiral inviting increased crime.

Crime is higher than in any other major U.S. city. Year-on-year, robberies are up 21 percent, assaults 7 percent, violent crimes in schools 26 percent. Chicago has led the nation in number of homicides for 12 consecutive years. Its murder rate is five times higher than New York City’s, but its homicide arrest rate is at a 24-year low. Johnson, who is Black, dislikes Chicago’s ShotSpotter acoustical technology that locates gunshots’ origins. He thinks it sends too many police into minority neighborhoods.

Walmart left four such neighborhoods that, the online publication Wirepoints says, experienced more than 5,000 crimes in 2022. Crime drives grocery stores from such neighborhoods, so Johnson proposes city-owned and -operated groceries. What could go wrong?

The four-day Fourth of July weekend’s toll was unusual: 109 shot, 19 fatally. The weekend of Aug. 3-4 was more normal: 48 shot, five fatally.

Chicago’s population has declined for nine consecutive years as education has cratered, crime has soared, and public services have withered because almost half of the city budget goes to debt service and government employees’ pensions. These have been negotiated with government sitting on both sides of the table: its employees demanding that it do what it wants to do — grow. The steep price of this progressivism is disproportionately paid by its supposed beneficiaries.

Answer 1

Yellow Journalism Rewrite:

CHICAGO IN CHAOS: A Front-Row Seat to the City’s Destructive Descent!

CHICAGO — Hold onto your hats, folks! The Democrats are gathering in a city that has plunged into DARKNESS, far worse than the infamous Great Fire of 1871! Unlike the mere flicker of flames that couldn’t stop Chicago’s relentless rise, the shadows looming over the city today are filled with corruption and union domination! Be warned—Chicago is the canary in the coal mine, a terrifying signal screaming of doom!

Brandon Johnson, the mayor whose political might comes straight from the depths of the 28,000-strong Chicago Teachers Union, has risen to power in a whirlwind of questionable politics! Just like the iron-fisted Richard J. Daley ruled from 1955-1976, the CTU is flexing its muscles in a shocking, VERY troubling fashion! Their leaders—who openly ADMIRE Venezuela and stand with Hamas—might as well be claiming a place on a world stage full of chaos and confusion! And guess what? The head honcho, Stacy Davis Gates, hypocritically sends her son to a private school while nearly a third of Chicago's public school teachers have followed suit—talk about a double standard!

Despite an eye-popping $24,000 per student spent on education—without even counting the mountain of debt—students are crashing and burning! Since 2012, math proficiency has sunk by a jaw-dropping 78%, and those poor 11th graders are barely scraping by—the catastrophe of reading and math levels is simply UNFORGIVABLE! Black students? A miserable 8% doing math at grade level! Is anyone listening?

And get this! A high school designed for NINE HUNDRED students has been reduced to just 35, while eight NEW unionized staffers are hired! Amidst the school closures during the pandemic, the union BLOCKED closure of over 160 almost-empty schools! Meanwhile, they’re eliminating selective enrollment high schools for absurd reasons of so-called “equity.” The audacity is staggering when half of those schools cater to disadvantaged families.

Absenteeism is the icing on this sad cake—the rate is an outrageous 40%, climbing to 46% among black students, while an astonishing 43% of CTU teachers themselves are skipping school! Meanwhile, the union’s outrageous demands for a new contract leaked, proposing bizarre perks like police-free schools and funding for a “gender-support coordinator” in every classroom! Gates stood proudly at one failed school while students there couldn’t even read or do math!

Chicago's population is shrinking faster than anyone can blink—over a quarter of residents have fled since 1950, with 2023 marking the city’s lowest population since 1920! While Cook County suffered a devastating loss of 58,000 in just one year—it’s a NIGHTMARE folks, plain and simple!

The city's poverty rate is a frightening 36.5% higher than the national average! Black unemployment is the highest in the largest U.S. cities and taxes are squeezing families dry, with property tax bills doubling in the last decade. Downtown is DARK and EMPTY, with nearly 26% office vacancies giving rise to an impending disaster—crime is skyrocketing as restaurants and shops shut their doors for good!

And crime? Buckle up—Chicago is the true crime capital of America! Violent crimes are surging, with school violence jumping a shocking 26%! The murder rate here is FIVE TIMES higher than in New York City, yet arrests are at a 24-year low! There’s chaos on the streets, with just the Fourth of July weekend boasting 109 gunshot victims and a heart-stopping 19 fatalities!

As the terrible truth unfolds, Chicago’s once-bright future is clouded by a series of catastrophic choices leading to disillusionment, decay, and outright despair! Elected officials who are supposed to serve the people are merely making things worse for those they claim to protect, creating a perfect STORM of despair that holds Chicago in its crushing grip!

Language Use Examples in the Rewrite:

1. Emotional Language:

   • "Hold onto your hats, folks! The Democrats are gathering in a city that has plunged into DARKNESS, far worse than the infamous Great Fire of 1871!"
   • This dramatic introduction uses vivid imagery and capital letters to evoke a sense of fear and urgency, typical of yellow journalism.

2. Sensational Content:

   • "Brandon Johnson, the mayor whose political might comes straight from the depths of the 28,000-strong Chicago Teachers Union, has risen to power in a whirlwind of questionable politics!"
   • This phrase sensationalizes the political dynamics and suggests a nefarious behind-the-scenes manipulation, heightening the drama surrounding Johnson's rise.

3. Hyperbolic Claims:

   • "The murder rate here is FIVE TIMES higher than in New York City, yet arrests are at a 24-year low!"
   • This stark exaggeration emphasizes the failure of law enforcement, playing on public fears and paranoia about safety and crime in the city.

Writing Process Explanation:

To transform the original piece from traditional journalism into yellow journalism, I adopted several key strategies:

1. Amplifying Emotion: I enhanced the emotional tone throughout the rewrite by using exclamation points, capitalization, and urgent phrases designed to provoke an emotional response from readers. This included describing the city as being in “DARKNESS” and referring to the situation as a “FRONT-ROW SEAT to the city’s destructive descent!”

2. Creating Sensational Headlines and Catchphrases: I constructed catchy and sensational headlines such as “CHICAGO IN CHAOS” and phrases like "the darkness looming over the city" to draw readers in and heighten the sense of crisis, embodying the hallmark of yellow journalism.

3. Focusing on Dramatic Examples: I cherry-picked the most shocking facts and examples from the original text while framing those details in a hyperbolic light, such as depicting the crime statistics and the involvement of influential groups in a way that supported a narrative of irreversible decay and chaos.

Overall, the goal was to not only report on the events but to portray them in an exaggerated, emotionally charged context to engage and rally the audience—a core principle of yellow journalism.