Fortune.com

Like ConsmerReports.com, Fortune.com is a companion site for a respected American magazine.  Most well-known for its annually updated lists, Fortune magazine has been tracking business and financial news since the 1930s.  The site includes feature stories from the magazine, special reports, and all of the Fortune lists, including a downloadable version of the famous Fortune 500.

As you browse through the website, you will notice that its tone and style fit its reputation as an award-winning business journal.  Some of the material can only be viewed by subscribers, but you can take a peek at some of the lists, including "America's Forty Richest under 40" and "100 Best Companies to Work For."   You can also participate in online polls, take interactive career quizzes, and get up-to-the-minute stock quotes.

Many of the websites you have already visited use Classification as a rhetorical strategy.  For easy navigation, sites like ConsumerReports.com and eBay.com have to divide their merchandise into categories.  With its lists, Fortune.com takes this strategy to its highest, most practically applied level.  The fame of the lists and their reputation-building power suggest that Fortune excels at using this strategy.  Pay attention not only to how the lists divide and classify but also to how the articles rely on classification to discuss commercial and financial success.



Visit Fortune.com

Q & A

1. From the home page, click on "All Fortune Lists" under "Companies."  Browse through some of the lists.  Each of the lists-- for example, "The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business"—acts as an organizing category.  Businesses and business people are then placed and ranked within the category. What seems to be the criteria for creating these categories?  What are the criteria for classifying or ranking a person or a company within that category?  Write one or two paragraphs explaining classification process in one of the lists.



2. Choose the list you would most like to appear on in the future, then consider the goals you would have to achieve to be highly ranked in that category.  In a paragraph, explain why you would like to appear on the list and how you would plan to make it there.



3. Under "Information" on the home page, click on "Press Center."  Skim through some of Fortune's press releases.  How does the organizing principle of Classification inform the way the writers represent the company?  Fortune's mission is based on the idea the business world somehow depends on categorization.  Not only can businesses be divided into different groups but they also can be classified or ranked within that class.  How do these writers present Fortune as a first-class publication?  Write a paragraph or two summarizing one of the press releases and discussing the importance of classification within it.



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