Sebastian Peck

English 131
10/16/2019

Archival Research Project - Annotated Bibliography

Genre Document 1:
Wardle, Elizabeth. “You Can Learn To Write In General.” Bad Ideas about Writing,
edited by Cheryl E Ball and Drew M Loewe, West Virginia University Libraries, Digital Publishing
Institute, 2017, pp. 30-33.

Definitions and arguments: Elizabeth Wardle’s segment in Bad Ideas About Writing, while not explicitly
mentioning the term genre, argues that there is no such thing as writing in general. Wardle claims that
all writing, no matter what, falls into a category (read: genre) that helps both the writer and reader
understand it, and in so doing creates a definition for genre: the categories or styles in which all writing,
no matter the kind, falls into. This follows with the pattern of the other documents and readings we’ve
observed which relate to genre- stating that all writing involves “context, audience, purpose, history,
medium, and values”.

Genre Document 2:
Hobmeier, Amanda L. “Enhancing Genre Awareness” Writer, Thinker, Maker.
Edited by AJ Burgin, Stephanie Hankinson and Candace Rai, University of Washington, Macmillan
Learning Curriculum Solutions, 2016, pp. 51-78

Definitions and arguments: The third chapter in Writer, Thinker, Maker, covers many aspects of genre
and genre analysis. Genre is defined in this chapter through analyzing multiple given examples of
writing. Each genre has a setting, subject, participants (writers/readers), and purpose as is defined in the
guide to genre analysis. Instead of making any explicit arguments about genre besides the implicit (that
genre exists)- it acts as a guide to understanding genre instead. Compared to the other readings we have
done, this takes much more of an objective tone given its textbook format, but more explicitly covers
the same ideas and points others may only imply.

1996:
“Washington Post Home Page.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Dec. 1996,
https://web.archive.org/web/19961220172326/http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Context: This is the first recorded version of the Washington Post’s website. At the time (1996), news
websites were just starting to be created as a supplement to the historical newspaper. While not the
first to create such a website, the Washington Post was among the first. The internet was still in its early
days, and not many people used it, much less used it to get news.

Consistencies/Differences: Being the first instance of the website, this version is pretty rough, and
appears to only act as a supplement to the newspaper itself. The news it does display seem to be the
major headlines. As for the layout, it appears to be relatively simple (as is expected), but it does contain
a multitude of links to contact information and images relating to a few stories.

2004:
“Washington Post Home Page.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Oct. 2004,
https://web.archive.org/web/20041014161302/http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Context: The United States was in the midst of the second election of George W. Bush. Because of this,
news was much more focused on the political aspect of life in America. By this time, Internet use was
commonplace, seeing the birth of websites like Facebook, and seeing the explosive growth of blogging.

Consistencies/Differences: At this point, the sheer number of articles available to the users of the
website is significantly higher. The articles themselves are now emphasized, with clear links.
Additionally, a sidebar indicates the weather forecast of the day. The layout has also changed, cleaning
things up a bit, but also adding more of what could potentially be seen as “Clutter”.

2012:
“Washington Post Home Page.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Jun. 2012,
https://web.archive.org/web/20120629132758/http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Context: 4G networking had become the forefront of cellular technology, which enabled the now
commonplace phones to network with greater ease. Instagram was created this year, as was the
incredibly accessible Raspberry Pi. Given this, technology was in much higher use. As for the political
landscape, 2012 was playing host to the second election of Barrack Obama, and being more
interconnected than ever allowed for news to flourish online.

Consistencies/Differences: The 2012 version of the Washington Post’s website is, as was the case in
2004, a lot larger than it previously was. This time, it is much more straightforward than it was, having
appeared to clean up the clutter. Advertisements are now present, and there is a wider variety of
articles, not just the larger-scale ones as seen previously. As with the previous two, the news is the
highlight of the website, with sidebars for additional info and articles. The organization is starting to look
much more like a newspaper, but online.

2019:
“Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis.” The Washington Post, WP
Company, 13 Oct. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com

Context: As of 2019, the internet is the primary source of news for the vast population of the United
States. Additionally, the primaries are coming up, and so people are tending to read the news even
more. However, there has been a wide string of attacks on news media in relation to “fake news”, and
due to this, many discredit news sources outside their interest or sphere of attention. Phones are
everywhere, making news that much easier to access for any and all who would be interested in reading
it.

Consistencies/Differences: The most change has been had between 2012 and 2019. The Washington
post website established a paywall in 2013, and that is now very visible. Additionally, Jeff Bezos
purchased it in 2013, which opened it up to some of Amazon’s networking infrastructure.
Advertisements are still prevalent. Those who subscribe to the newspaper or the website have access
without either. The formatting of the page is significantly clearer, and there are even more articles than
ever before. Many are accompanied by photos, and the sidebars are now much less obtrusive. More
articles and stories are available than ever before.
Conclusion: As time has gone on, journalism has shifted to from the conventional paper medium, to that
of a website. This has been aided by the rapid growth in technology. Due to need for income, though, as
papers are selling less due to the switch to the internet (making news a lot easier to access for a lot
cheaper), they transitioned to advertisements and a subscription service, essentially turning their
website into an e-newspaper. This genre is operating much like it’s predecessor, becoming one of the
primary and well established methods of reporting news. Despite that, people tend to treat it with less
respect- although that may just be due to the political climate, and not the medium it is on. In order to
clarify a few things, it would be better to understand weather or not people trust the same company’s
news website or their paper more – if at all.