My Sources

In this blog post I will analyze the rhetorical situation of 10 of the sources that I am using to create a quick reference guide for Project 1.

Nicole C. Engard, "Wordle from Open Source Book." 5/24/2011. via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Here are 10 of the sources that I will be using for my project can be found:

Here

• The source comes from The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post labels itself as a blog, however it is extremely well respected earning both a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting and the Peabody Award as well.
  
• The author of the source is Lucas Kavner. He is mainly a performer and actor who lives in Brooklyn, New York. While his background does not show an extensive education in Journalism, his work has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. He states on his website however that he is also a staff reporter for The Huffington Post and therefore attempts to maintain a lack of bias in his work. Due to his distance from the area he is not the ideal source however his facts have been checked and remain accurate.
  
• The source came out on July 19, 2012. Race issues were playing a significant role at this time in the country following the death of Trayvon Martin and the highly publicized court case against George Zimmerman that followed afterwards. While this controversy does not pertain to African Americans, the feeling of unjustified action taken against another based on race was very important at this time.
  
• The source relays facts that have already been released by other pieces of information by The Los Angeles Times. It helps contextualize also the previous history of the struggles in recent years of Asian American actors, and only offers minimal bias. While this source is not ideal, it shows the reaction that other areas of the country, specifically in New York, have when faced with this controversy.

Here

• The source comes from The Los Angeles Times, which covered extensively on this topic due to the close location of La Jolla Playhouse on the campus of University of California, San Diego. The newspaper itself is very well respected, with the newspaper having won over 40 Pulitzer Prizes in it's history. This ensures the credibility of the articles published by this newspaper.
  
• The author of the source is David Ng. He is an arts reporter that works for The Los Angeles Times. He has received a degree from the cultural reporting and and criticism program from New York University's Journalism School. This information proves his credibility and his experience as an unbiased reporter in the arts.
  
• The source was completed on July 23, 2012. There had been a recent panel at the University of California, San Diego regarding this topic where the members of La Jolla Playhouse defended themselves and their choices against critics. This article was written in response to the panel, and puts the panel that occurred on July 22, 2012 into perspective of the rest of the controversy.
  
• The article summarized the events of the panel that occurred at UC San Diego, and therefore represented both the stakeholders at La Jolla Playhouse as well as the stakeholders at AAPAC. It offers a summary of both accounts that occurred, offering important highlights directly from the sources themselves as a personal account of what had transpired that night. It shows the most important takeaways of the nights and offers what should be important to highlight in the project.

Here

• The source comes from International Business Times. It is an online news source which offers news, opinions, and other columns on business and commerce. It is for the international community as it highlights itself as being translated into multiple languages for members of other countries to enjoy. It's international presence and highlights of news reporting serve to represent it's credibility.
  
• The author of the source is Christopher Zara. He is the deputy editor of media and culture of International Business Times, previously serving as an editor for Show Business, a magazine that helps guide young actors towards success as well as occasionally posting for Newsweek. While his experience in terms of journalistic expertise is not high, his experience in the theatre makes him a viable source for this project as he understands theatre on both a local and professional level.
  
• The source came out on July 14, 2012. This was written shortly after the casting of The Nightingale had been announced by La Jolla Playhouse, and was one of the many articles voicing the opinions of those in the theatre right at the beginning of the start of all the controversy. This captures the early days of the controversy of what happened, however neglected the information that was released later on, specifically the panel that occurred days after this article was written.
  
• This article is able to represent the feelings of the theatre community at the initial moment that the controversy begins when the casting is announced. While he was not close to the action when Zara wrote the articles as he lives in New York City, he was perfectly able to capture the initial public outcry, especially from those in professional theatre and those who work in the theatre that were not directly effected from the casting decision. It allows for a glimpse into the early time frame of this controversy, and the initial reactions to the casting decisions before La Jolla Playhouse was able to respond by holding a discussion at the University of California, San Diego.

Here

• The source comes from YouTube and is a recorded video from the audience of the forum at University of California, San Diego where both members of AAPAC and La Jolla Playhouse gathered together in front of an audience to discuss the controversy, offering up both sides of the issue. This makes this source the most credible source that I will use for the project, because it is a taped 7 part segment of both sides of the parties speaking for themselves rather than journalists covering the story.
  
• The author of the source is an anonymous audience member in attendance of the public forum that took place in July 2012 at University of California, San Diego. While the anonymous nature of the source is questionable, the information that is relayed in the videos is not. The information from the video comes from each of the stakeholders themselves, and therefore that makes this source extremely credible.
  
• The source came out on July 23, 2012. This was a few days after the forum had taken place, and was therefore in the midst of all of the controversy that was going on. However the video was recorded in a timely manner and released to the public in a timely manner as well, showing that the information was not tampered with or corrupted with opinions and is merely a recording showing what had taken place at the forum between the two parties.
  
• The source offers me direct information about the feelings of both sides of the stakeholders, as well as direct quotes from each of them rather than something that has been filtered through by the media. It represents both stakeholders that were in attendance at the forum, and allows both sides the time to give their opinions and reasoning behind the controversy. It allows the members of La Jolla Playhouse to explain their reasoning for casting, as well as members of AAPAC to voice their complaints and opinions on why La Jolla Playhouse is wrong on this issue. It is extremely important to my project because it offers the most in-depth look behind what each side of the party thinks, without any sort of bias offered in by the reactions of the media.

Here

• The source comes from Examiner.com. They are a collection of blogs based on news stories that go on throughout the media. While this makes the information possibly less credible, the information is coming from those who are highly interested in the topic and is therefore showing public reaction from those in the media and those in the field.
  
• The author of the source is Ed Moy. He is a writer for Examiner.com that has worked over 15 years as a freelance writer and a journalist. He has been awarded with Excellence in Journalism from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. While the information he writes on the website is not checked as it is a collection of blogs, he has a history in Journalism and has written many works without bias. Also, as a member of the Asian community with a history in theatre, his writing on the story shows how the Asian/Theatre community reacts to the controversy at La Jolla Playhouse.
  
• The source came out on July 19, 2012, prior to the forum at UCSD. The article was written in preparation for the forum, as it filled in details to the audience that might have been unaware of the controversy what the problem in question was. It at the time was a way to ensure the audience that was reading the blog that they should come back for an update on what had occurred at the public forum. It was written for an audience that did not know about the controversy and informed them about it and teased them to stick around for more.
  
• This story shows how the mass media publicized the controversy for their audience, and how that information was presented to the audience. This blog was meant to be read in order to tease the audience to desire to find out more information, and therefore come back to the blog to hear about an update that would occur after the public forum. While this is not the best form of source, it shows another possible way how the people were receiving information about this controversy and how that influenced their opinions.

Here

• The source comes from KPBS. It is a radio station that broadcasts from San Diego, specifically from San Diego State University. This increases the credibility of the post considerably due to the close proximity of the radio station to La Jolla Playhouse. It also includes an interview with Christopher Ashley who is the artistic director for La Jolla Playhouse as well as Asian-American actor Greg Watanabe. It allows both sides of the sources to get their own opinions out without the opinions of the media and therefore like the video is an extremely credible source.
  
• The authors of the source are Angela Carone and Maureen Cavanaugh. Angela Carone covers arts and culture for KPBS. She has over 15 years of experience in Journalism, having worked for various newspapers and is also responsible for producing other radio shows focusing on the arts in both San Diego and in Atlanta. She also has 2 degrees in Political Science and English literature from Pennsylvania State University and Georgia State University respectively. She has a vast amount of experience and is therefore extremely credible in both her journalism and theatre experience. Maureen Cavanaugh completes the interview with Christopher Ashley and Greg Watanabe and therefore, while her experience as an award winning host for KPBS makes her credible, it is the words coming from her interviewees that make the radio segment extremely special.
  
• The source came out on July 18, 2012. The specific time period takes place before the public forum at UCSD between members of La Jolla Playhouse and AAPAC. This is the first recorded instance of an interaction between members of La Jolla Playhouse and the Asian-American theatre community that I was able to find. This allows for more expanded answers and a variety of different opinions from the community as a whole, and incorporated into a different and unique medium, which allows this to fit into a different genre with different conventions and therefore be targeted at a different and more specific audience.
  
• This offers one of the most credible pieces of information for my project, as it is a recorded interaction between both stakeholders, therefore allowing each of them to express their opinions and therefore defend against one another. It allows for both parties to be represented and express their ideas without being filtered through the media, and every single detail that they say is able to be analyzed, rather than the specific highlights that the media that is receiving the news chooses to focus on.

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• The source comes from Backstage. They are a magazine published for those in the performing arts community, offering stories and tips on how to be able to make it in the professional world. While they are not a reputable news organization, they are reputable within the theatre community as they publish themselves for both those looking to make it in the business as well as a resource for those in the business on casting opportunities as well. They have extreme commercial value for those involved in theatre, and therefore are very representative of the theatre community.
  
• The author of the source is Daniel Lehman. He has graduated from New York University with degrees in both Journalism and Cinema Studies, and has worked professionally as a casting director. He is a staff writer for Backstage and has written stories for both them and a variety of other similar magazines in New York. While he is not close to the proximity of the story, he is qualified to understand the current undertones of casting in the theatre and the reasons for both why La Jolla Playhouse chose to cast the way they did as well as understand the frustrations that Asian American actors are feeling.
   
• The source came out on July 18, 2012. The story was written only a week after The Nightingale had begun performances at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. While it was taking the information from sources closer to the event, it was also putting the story into context for a different type of audience. Due to the author's knowledge of casting in theatre, he was able to take the time to understand both sides of the story and from a perspective of a professional in the theatre relay that information to others in a way that was representative of an understanding former casting director.
  
• The information that is given through this article presents in an entirely different perspective, the information is relayed without any hint of bias and simply a relaying of what each side has to say. Also the technical information on the show is given out as well, as Backstage has much more technical information than a variety of other sources. Due to the author's familiarity with casting, the magazine offered information on the process of how the casting was done and where, which has not been given out in any other article due to the lack of theatre experience in casting from the authors of the articles.

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• The source comes from The San Diego Union-Tribune. It is a daily newspaper published in San Diego, California. The newspaper has won 4 Pulitzer Prizes in it's history, and is an extremely credible source of information especially due it's close proximity to the controversy as it is the local newspaper for San Diego, where the controversy takes place. Those who reported on this event were able to get up close and personal with each character in this story, and understand how it was around the vicinity of La Jolla and the public reaction there.
  
• The author of the source is James Herbert. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Journalism, and has served as a theatre reporter and critic in San Diego for over 20 years. Also, in 2008, he served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize and was one of the ones who selected the play that would receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He has served in both the journalism and theatre fields for over 2 decades and is highly credible after graduating from a university at the caliber of Columbia and being recognized as worthy of helping to award the Pulitzer Prize for Drama due to his extensive background and knowledge of theatre and journalism.
  
• The source came out on July 11, 2012. This is one of the earliest sources that I have been able to find, as The Nightingale had only begun performances on July 10th. It shows the absolute initial reaction to those in the local community, both in general and in terms of how the local theatre community reacted to hearing about this controversy of a white man cast in an Asian role. It gives the initial reactions to those that worked in La Jolla to the controversy, as well as the initial reactions of those in the Asian community that were offended by the choice in casting.
  
• This is an extremely valuable source as it shows the very initial reaction in the local area of the controversy, especially coming from someone as credible as an author like James Herbert whose qualifications are astounding. It specifically shows the emphasis on how La Jolla was reacting, and the steps that the artistic director, Christopher Ashley, was taking to try and calm the public opinion regarding the show.

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• The source comes from a blog titled Angry Asian Man. While this blog can not be taken for the facts of what is occurring, it is a great way to show the reaction of the Asian American community to this controversy. The blog goes on rants of sorts on a variety of different topics that effect the community, and therefore is a very good gauge on the amount of anger that was felt by the Asian American community regarding this controversy, specifically listing out the details of why they are so angry.
  
• The author of the source is an anonymous individual that represents the Asian American community with his anger towards the various controversies that involve them. While this does decrease the credibility significantly, the point of this source is less about trying to understand the facts of what had occurred and more the reactions that the controversy attracted from those in the community. The amount of anger that can be seen from this blog alone is just a bit of how the surrounding Asian community reacted when faced with this controversy.
   
• The source came out on July 24, 2012 as a response to the forum that La Jolla Playhouse had set up at University of California, San Diego. It changes the initial anger that the blogger takes out against La Jolla Playhouse, which can be seen here, and shows how not only the Asian American community reacted to the initial controversy, but also how the controversy was then handled by the members of La Jolla Playhouse.
  
• The source is one of the best insights into the Asian American stakeholder and the opinions that were felt not only by AAPAC but by the surrounding community and those who were not given a public forum by La Jolla Playhouse. This emphasizes not only the feelings that many Asian American individuals had towards The Nightingale controversy, but also how those feelings changed and how they were affected but subsequent events such as the public forum at UCSD. It gives insight into the amount of anger that was felt by the community by the perceived wrongdoing of La Jolla Playhouse.

Here

• The source comes from Chinese Pirate Productions, which is another blog as well. While this does neglect it's credibility as the facts that are shown here are not to be trusted as no one is fact checking this blog professionally other than the author, it also is not being used for the purpose of the facts. This offers another insight into the feelings felt by those in the local community of La Jolla, specifically from a member of the theatre community that worked for La Jolla Playhouse and disagrees with their decisions.
  
• The author of the source is Andy Lowe. He was a graduate from University of California, San Diego with a major in theatre and worked for La Jolla Playhouse for over 15 years. He also was responsible for creating a local Asian American theatre located in San Diego called the Asian American Repertory Theatre, which he served as an artistic director for 10 years while also working at La Jolla Playhouse. Despite his lack of qualifications in journalism, he is extremely close to the controversy both physically and emotionally as he represented Asian American theatre in San Diego and also worked for La Jolla Playhouse as well.
  
• The source came out on July 19, 2012. This takes place a few days before the forum, and served as another public reaction from inside within the theatre of La Jolla Playhouse as well, and as an opposing voice. This was amidst all of the recent performances and statements from Christopher Ashley, and the setup of the forum at UCSD. While this was not able to serve as a response to the forum, it showed reaction to the initial controversy, and showed as well that even members within La Jolla Playhouse did not degree with the executive decisions that were being made.
  
• This offers a fresh and drastically different perspective of the reaction to this controversy that has not yet been seen. Previously those only involved in the Asian American community and those at La Jolla Playhouse had their voices heard until this blog post was able to show the discrepancies of opinion within the organization of La Jolla Playhouse. It shows that even within the stakeholder of La Jolla Playhouse, there were members of the Asian American community that were disgusted by the decisions that La Jolla Playhouse had been making and were speaking out against them as well, despite their loyalty to the company. It contextualizes that those at La Jolla Playhouse were not unified on this issue, and that the controversy could be felt even within the company itself rather than from the exterior sources exclusively.