Point of View - Steven Johnson

The columnist I chose was Steve Johnson, from the Chicago Tribune, whose point of view is lifestyle. In the two pieces I read, “5 things to watch for at tonight's Grammys, on CBS” and “What’s wrong with the new Starbucks loyalty plan? The answer is simple,” Johnson uses small side sentences, pop culture references, and elevated diction to talk about things that most people have experienced or seen in their life.

Johnson’s use of small side sentences or comments adds the most to his lifestyle point of view. When he wrote his “What’s Wrong” article he compares Starbucks to a 7-eleven saying that the Frappuccino is like the slurpee, and that the scone is like the greasy donut. But he adds at the end that, “There is no lottery-ticket parallel, unless, perhaps, you count the cards entitling you to a free song on iTunes” (What’s wrong 2). When Johnson writes about this most people remember seeing those cards and maybe picking up a few. That enforces his lifestyle feeling in his pieces. In the “5 things” article Johnson talks about Trash Justin Bieber and how maybe he can turn us into ‘Beliebers’. He says that, “In a week during which scientists have finally discovered gravitational waves, anything is possible” (5 things 2). Everyone knows Justin Bieber and how he is literal garbage a star. Johnson knew that. He added him on purpose and added that small sentence to make fun of a popular topic adding to his lifestyle like writing.