The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a television station."Over the past year, our late-night news program has devoted increased time to national news and less time to weather and local news. During this time period, most of the comp

The author’s argument while it may seem adequate at first glance, once we study it more cautiously, reveals some flawed conclusions and a lack of evidence to support its claims about the causes and consequences of its decreasing viewers and loss of revenues.

First, the author expresses that the time devoted to national news increased and they reduced the time for local news and weather reports, deriving in complaints from the viewers concerning about the coverage of weather and local news. Nonetheless, the does not provide any quantification of the hours previous to the reduction and the new situation. On the same page, he does not specify what kind of concerns the viewers have. Are those concerns relating to the time? If so, are they because they reclaim the reduction of the time or do they think is not enough reduction? Maybe the concerns have nothing to do with the timing and have more to do with the contents and quality of the programs. Moreover, the author should present the evidence that the complaints are about the late-night show, which is the one that got the changes according to the memorandum.

Second, the author claims that because of these changes made to the late-night show, local business that used to advertise during that time, canceled their contracts. Not only is this assumption flawed, but it lacks any support or evidence to strengthen the argument. The local business could have many reasons to cancel their contracts with the television station. For instance, the business could have gone into bankruptcy, or the economy may have had affected them, forcing them to reduce costs, and therefore canceling their contracts. Another possible reason is that they saw no new profits with the advertisement, or the new profits were not significant if one included the price of the contract. A couple of more reasons that could make the local business take this decision would be a bad service or a rupture in a clause of the contract for part of the television station.

Finally, the author assures that the restoration of the time devoted to weather and local news would attract more viewers and avoid losing any further advertising revenues. However, this does not guarantee the increase in the quantity of viewers nor it impedes future loses of advertising revenues.

To summarize, the author ought to present the quantification of the changed hours, from the original state to the new one. Also, the author would have to present the data about the complaints and concerns of the viewers, specifying their subject and reasons. And he would have to present the evidence to bolster his claim that changing back the times would ameliorate the viewers and stop future revenues loss.