SWA #21 In CR

1. It is obviously being argued in this short article in a sarcastic way that Americans have become entirely too lazy when it comes to reading and understanding articles and long blocks of text in newspapers, magazines, and the like. The author is dramatizing the fact that everyone would rather read about colorful, exciting pop culture happenings than whatever is contained in something that looks boring, even if it contains the exact same information. You can tell he is arguing this because he makes such a big deal of describing how horrified Americans seem to be when they 'see' this text.
2. The hyperbole the author uses is his main tactic in being effective in his observational argument. The article is almost funny, because the author makes this 'mass block of text' so extreme, when in reality, something as trivial as a newspaper article without pictures would never be regarded as something of such attention.  He says that 'businesses were shuttered, and local governments ground to a halt', which obviously would never happen,  but these descriptions make his argument all the more easy to understand and perceive.