Natalie Bull

Prof. Rivard

WRT 1050

October 11, 2020

Column Analyzation of Salena Zito

Salena Zito, a 61-year-old columnist from Pittsburgh, writes national political reports that

reach mass audiences across the United States. Many of her columns are published on

jewishworldreview.com for supporters to access. Even writing the book ‘The Great Revolt:

Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics’ with co-author, Brad Todd. Zito’s

extensive experience in politics throughout the years have gained her the credibility and audience

she has today. Her middle ground point of view allows her readers to get strictly the story,

without her own influence. The main message that relays across all her columns is the urgency of

voting for all demographics. Many voters feel confident that their opinion is shared among the

majority of voters, so their vote doesn’t seem crucial. Some stereotypical age groups such as

elders, may feel their opinion to be voiceless when in reality they will have the biggest impact on

the upcoming election. Zito’s goal is to educate readers on the impact of individual votes

(Salena).

When writing her columns, Zito is skilled in her diction as she easily transitions from

formal to informal. Her narrative stories of true people draw the reader in and relates to the

political matter in discussion. Her statistics and quotes from politicians prove her credibility and

gain the trust of her audience. In Zito’s article ‘Joe Has Absolutely No Idea What’s Happening’

she reported, “In the wide-ranging interview, Trump spoke about the upcoming election, the

battle against the coronavirus… among other issues” (Zito par. 18). She only displays the facts
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and creates a formal environment with her word choice. She creates the setting for the reader to

credit the source of her information. Another article of hers, shows the informal side as she calls

out voters of the United States in her piece, ‘Senior Citizens Will Be the ‘Deciding Factor’ in the

2020 Election’. She claims, “Not the suburban soccer mom, not the suburban security mom, not

the NASCAR dad and not the people showing up to protest in the streets” (Zito par. 3). Her

descriptions of each individual group of voting Americans is a direct message to her readers.

Throughout this article it is made clear that these groups don’t make the final decision on how

this election vote will swing if people don’t cast their own vote. Although she experiments

between formal and informal, her columns always give credible facts and information.

Through her pieces, Zito’s atmosphere remains informative. Her storytelling narrative

through real experiences and the words of professionals, allows the talking to be done for her.

Her point is structured the same in every piece for readers to find exactly what she is writing on.

One example of her using the professionals to tell the story is in her article, ‘Joe Has Absolutely

No Idea What’s Happening’ President Donald Trump claimed, “Talking about the prospects of

leading the economic recovery, Trump said: ‘Biden can’t do it. He doesn’t know he’s alive’”

(Zito par. 8). Trump makes an accusation on Biden’s mental health and claims he isn’t capable of

running the country. Zito uses Trump’s claim to inform readers on the mental state of both

presidents through authentic statements to push her audience to form their own opinions based

on this. Her personal tone remains clear through her many statistics. In her article, ‘The

Economy Is Struggling, but Gun Sales Are Soaring’ she states, “An all-time sales high was

recorded in March, when the virus outbreak hit and much of the country closed down: The FBI

saw 3.7 million background checks” (Zito par. 8). Her information as reported by the FBI brings

the staggering statistic that millions of background checks were done, meaning the amount of
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gun sales are at an all-time high. The informative tone that remains throughout her columns,

gives her audience the reassurance that they are getting unbiased, credible information.

One of many rhetorical modes Zito experiments with is compare and contrast. An article

of hers which shows it’s use is in ‘Joe Has Absolutely No Idea What’s Happening’. She shows

the decisions that Biden makes and displays how Trump uses them to show he’s the better

candidate. Zito reports, “Asked about the possibility that Democrats will not hold an in-person

convention, Trump said, ‘I think that’s a good move when you have Biden as your candidate”

(Zito par. 6). Biden stays away from holding his own debates and rallies due to COVID-19 so

Trump uses that to show he isn’t mentally stable enough to go into the public eye. Zito’s able to

convey to the audience which of the two candidates is stronger by comparing the two. Another

example of when she’s used compare and contrast is in her article ‘The Economy Is Struggling,

but Gun Sales Are Soaring’, Zito says, “A ‘Make America Great Again’ hat is propped on top of

a beautifully carved wooden statue… Inside and out, everyone is in a mask (that is the rule);

everyone is at a distance; respect for each other is key” (Zito par. 20, 21). The stereotypical

Trump fan isn’t depicted as wearing a mask and abiding to the mandated rules set by each

governor. Zito juxtaposed the contrasting situation to compare the gun shop with the varying

buyers that feel it’s necessary to purchase a gun during this trying time. Her use of this rhetorical

mode allows her reader to compare the current political atmosphere without her personal

influence. Her main goal of promoting voting is pushed through exposing her audience to both

sides truthfully.

The many readers of Zito’s work are assumed to be adults of voting age as her columns

tend to focus on subject manners that explain the changing political climate and the importance a

vote makes. With articles such as ‘Joe Has Absolutely No Idea What’s Happening’ and ‘Senior
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Citizens Will Be the ‘Deciding Factor’ in the 2020 Election’, she is writing about this upcoming

election; talking directly to voters making sure they know their vote is important especially this

adaptive year. In the article addressing Joe Biden, the specific intended audience is voters in

swing states that need to consider the changes Biden will make that could negatively affect their

state. In the article Zito relays, “By allying with Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders on energy policy,

Trump said, Biden ‘lost Texas. He lost Pennsylvania… And he lost every other state where fuel

is important” (Zito par. 4). The audience of voters need to be informed so the economy of their

state isn’t affected. While in the second article about senior citizen votes, the intended audience

of the piece is adults who are thinking about not voting and senior citizens who need to know the

impact their vote will make. Zito claims, “While those 65 and older have long been a powerful

voting bloc, this year, Brauer says, given the context of the election, their vote will make the

difference” (Zito par. 5). The facts are lesser known to the average voter and people need to

know the truth on where their vote lies. Zito’s common goal with both audiences is informing the

importance of voting to ensure your opinion is heard.

All three columns that have been analyzed have a common structure while using the same

tone and diction throughout. Zito is a storyteller who gives a voice to the people she is writing

about. These narrative stories help her audience feel connected to her and trust her writing. The

informative atmosphere shows her years of experience as a columnist and working with

politicians; interviewing every president and vice president in the 21st century. She lets the

quotes of the people in her articles tell the story and leaves her own opinion out for an unbiased

read. When writing her columns, they each have a bigger purpose then the specific message that

comes with each; her goal is to reach uneducated voters and give them facts that will promote

new voting habits. Her future columns will have this goal in mind until the upcoming election
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takes place. Zito as a columnist keeps her readers informed and creates an informal bond through

her narratives that keeps them coming back for more (Salena).
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Works Cited

Saleno Zito, salenazito.com/.

Zito, Saleno. "'Joe Has Absolutely No Idea What's Happening'." Jewish World Review, 19

May 2020, www.jewishworldreview.com/0520/zito051920.php3.

--- "The Economy Is Struggling, but Gun Sales Are Soaring." Jewish World Review, 11 Aug.

2020, www.jewishworldreview.com/0820/zito081120.php3.

--- "Senior Citizens Will Be the 'Deciding Factor' in 2020 Election." Jewish World Review, 7

July 2020, www.jewishworldreview.com/0720/zito070720.php3.