She gives the reader some information about what time period she grew up in. She also tells of her children and her experiences as a mother. She uses personal experience to develop her ethos. She says, "[i]t's the first choice [cartoons] whenever I need a quick pass of child-free time to make a phone call"(Wolfs 42). Her target audience, which is working parents with young children, is greatly affected because they can relate to placing their kids in front of the T.V. so that they can have "child-free time". The reason that working parents are her target audience is because of the magazine that this article appears in. George, founded by JFK JR, is a political magazine that middle working-class people would read. The magazine's targeted audience and Wolfs" extensive use of her personal experiences designate the article as a popular source.
Wolfs shows that she has done her own research as well. She provides quotes from David Weiss, from the publication department of the Cartoon Network series Cow and Chicken. This demonstrates that she has examined the cartoons carefully and has interviewed crucial people responsible in production of the cartoon so that she can get her opinions validated. She also refers to a website (www.lionlamb.com) which has involved the government in this issue as well. The fact that she incorporates the website, assures the reader that she is stating a legitimate fact and allows the reader to "check" her sources. Wolfs" research helps her convince the target audience of the article's credibility. On the other hand, even though some websites do provide academic information, the majority of them simply states other people's opinions and is considered merely to be popular sources. .
In their article, Kunkel and Cope do not directly talk about their background and no personal information is provided. Through their research, the reader develops a sense of confidence in the writers of this article because presented facts seem very accurate.
