As media continues to develop into more digital forms and away from traditional forms, it is important to recognize how content and medium interplay with rhetoric. When an author chooses a medium, they are directly determining how the content will be displayed. The affordances and constraints of a medium impact how a message will be conveyed. In turn, the rhetorical devices and choices that the author is able to make are confined by the medium in which they choose. The use of new media, such as digital writing spaces, is becoming more prominent. Therefore it is necessary to understand how this type of medium alters the rhetoric of the content.
Choosing an Audience
When choosing to write, an author must first establish who their audience is. Is it children? Adults, maybe parents? Is it high school students planning on attending college? Or is it students who don’t want to go to college? Once they have narrowed down and determined their audience, then they can choose their medium. On one end, they may decide to go the more traditional route. This could look like an article in a newspaper, a feature on a magazine, or a printed book. They could also take a more modern approach. They may utilize platforms such as Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, or they may make an online blog post. However, whichever medium they choose, it must be appropriate for their audience. For instance, if a target audience is ages 65+, using Instagram to convey their message would probably not be the best choice.
Differences in Mediums
So how big of a difference do using different mediums make? When taking a look at new media versus traditional media, Richard Lanham explains in J.D Applen’s “Writing for the Web: Composing, Coding, and Constructing Web Sites,” that our perception of text that we engage with on a computer screen is inconsistent with that of the traditional printed word. The ability to alter digital content and text creates a more interactive experience. In an online space, the audience is able to leave comments or respond to a post in some way. The author is then able to alter the content written. When changing the content, the author may also be changing the rhetorical devices used. This is not possible with traditional print. Therefore, the medium chosen and the content written interplay with rhetoric.
Spoken Rhetoric
Straying away from the digital aspect of print, spoken versus written words can also be compared as two different mediums. Similar to the example provided previously, Walter Ong discusses in Doug Eyman’s “Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method Practice,” how the written word lives on forever while the spoken word is dead. While we are able to respond to the spoken word, once an individual speaks, the words they say cannot be changed, making them dead. This inability to alter spoken words once they are said causes some people to think more about what they want to say. However, less time is put into the thought behind speaking. With writing, the author has the ability to spend more time thinking about what they want to say. When choosing a medium, the content varies due to the time taken to produce the words either said or written. In turn, the rhetoric also differs.
A Transformation of Rhetoric
It is not only the content that changes when deciding on a medium, but the type of rhetoric as well. James Zappen explains how “the new media support and enable the transformation of the old rhetoric of persuasion into a new digital rhetoric that encourages self-expression, participation, and creative collaboration.” Zappen’s explanation provides reason for the claim that the medium, in this case a digital space, influences the content and rhetoric conveyed. It is clear that the medium an author chooses alters the content as well as the rhetoric. However, if an author wants to use specific rhetorical devices, this leaves the question: Does rhetoric influence the medium? It seems to be a matter of choice.
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