James Campbell's article, 'Paramedics pay not in emergency', published in the Sunday Herald Sun 14 July 2013, supports what the title suggests, that Victorian paramedics Paramedics don't deserve the 30% pay rise they are campaigning for. Campbell adopts a very sarcastic tone to present the arguments that paramedics earn quite a bit considering the amount of vacation and sick days they take. He addresses his audience of Victorian taxpayers by including the public in his opinions, citing statistics and figures that actually hit a nerve, and ridiculing the pay rise demand. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCampbell begins his column by engaging all members of his audience, acknowledging that “if your loved one died on the street and one of Victoria's best ambulances restarted your heart,” then perhaps you'll support the call for a raise of pay. Once he acknowledges this group, Campbell continues his article by including his audience in his disgust at the call for a “huge” 48% pay increase. He claims that “most of us” don't have 10% pay weeks granted to paramedics and that "most of us" work Monday to Friday, not according to the four-on-four shift to which paramedics are entitled. Through his inclusive comparison of the working conditions of paramedics, the public is in the position to view their own working conditions as inadequate by comparison and to lose sympathy for the paramedics' pay battle and agree that their demand for pay is not justified. The article also relies heavily on the use of figures to appeal to the audience's sense of justice and nerves. Campbell's first appeal for nerve comes by reminding the public that the Victorian government is "trying to talk its way through the ailing economy". This leads taxpayers to question the effect of giving such a large wage increase. The repetition of the sum of “Ninety-three thousand dollars!?!” through Campbell's piece he keeps this large sum in the reader's mind as the amount that "the most common category of paramedics" earns. Again, the public compares their own financial situations. Once this is firmly established in the reader's mind, Campbell presents damning statistics about Ambulance Victoria's lack of productivity, summarizing his statistics with the generalization that "it would appear that the average ambulance operates only 11 days a month". These statistics combine to position the public against Ambulance Victoria, viewing it as unproductive and unworthy of the pay rise requested. To further influence his audience, Campbell uses sarcasm to accentuate the "sweet" deal the paramedics are getting. He suspiciously points to the amount of “unplanned furloughs” and how they “often appear to go on strike at weekends” to portray Ambos as weak and undeserving. Campbell concludes his article by inviting the public to adopt his cynical view towards the ambulance service. “Ask yourself if this sounds like a group of people who should be asking taxpayers for a 30% pay rise with a straight face?” Together with Campbell's sarcasm throughout the article and the ironic message depicted on the back of a Frankston ambulance, this final question leads the reader to view the campaign for a pay rise as ridiculous.