Wal-Mart

I found the article “Wal-Martian Invasion” by Barbara Ehrenreich to be quite interesting and decided to do some further research behind the article. I researched information about the journal the article was originally published in and the intended target audience. “Wal-Martian Invasion” was originally published in a well-known Maryland newspaper, The Baltimore Sun. This daily newspaper company has your typical newspaper layout in that its sections include News, Opinion (editorial), Books, Business, Entertainment, Sports and Travel pages. Being published in a newspaper like The Baltimore Sun, it can be concluded that the target audience would be your everyday average person wanting to catch up on the daily news or maybe wanting to find out what upcoming movies got good reviews. The Baltimore Sun includes articles that capture their reader’s attention so that that person will want to read it and buy it. What affect does having this particular audience have on the article? The article is going to be a bit informal in its writing style so it can relate more effectively with its readers. No one wants to be lectured at when they read the paper in the morning. And you see this informal, more personal style in Ehrenreich’s writing. You see this when she associates Wal-Mart employees as “space invaders”, when she lauds Costco for having “native-born humans” for employees, and when she ends by telling Wal-Mart to “live with us or go back the mothership.” Her writing style fits the criteria for a newspaper in that it is enjoyable to read.