Article Comparison

When I began looking for articles to compare for this blog, I wanted to take a different approach to the comparisons. I wanted to find articles that I could compare but aren’t polarizing. I truly believe that the media can fix itself and our nation can fix this polarizing climate we are in. I decided to look at an event that was meant to bring us together as a country… the passing of George H. W. Bush. I was looking at articles on CNN and Fox News and they both spoke incredibly highly George H.W. Bush. I was worried that the CNN article would have said things that were criticizing his work as president, but both were very respectful. Both the articles discuss the enormous legacy that Bush held and the respect he demanded.

The CNN article discusses how the Clinton’s and Obama’s both went to the funeral to pay their respects. The only article I found that said something negative about an event at the funeral was from Fox News. It stated that Hilary Clinton was avoiding talking to Trump at the funeral. This is an unfortunate article because it seems based on biases and incorrect sources.

It is common for Presidents to cause major amounts of conflict among the population, but these articles show that the country is able to move past differences and show their respects for a deceased president. Both these articles used language such as respect, legacy, and honorable. It was encouraging to see this type of language used.

 

Work Cited

Pappas, Alex. “George H.W. Bush Honored by Son, Dignitaries in Emotional Funeral Tribute: ‘A Great and Noble Man’.” Fox News, FOX News Network, Dec. 2018

 

Wagner, Meg. “The Nation Honors George H.W. Bush: Live Updates.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Dec. 2018

Exploring Bias 1

The article I chose to write about for my exploring bias post is from Fox News and the article is titled “Despite heat at home, Trump approval ratings tower above embattled European leaders” Based purely on the title, we can see that this article will contain bias. The immediate reaction I had was “what are they basing these approval ratings on?”, so that made me more intrigued on what the article was about. The article begins by saying that there is civil unrest on the streets in some countries, so compared to them, he is doing great. I counter that point and see bias in it because there is civil unrest in this country. We have had unrest due to gun laws, Black Lives Matter, and Women’s Rights, so I don’t think it’s fair to say he is “riding high” compared to other countries. The article begins to make some stronger points when looking at actual approval ratings and noting that Trump is sitting right under a 50% approval rating while World Leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May are below that by a lot. The article is using a Fox poll to base their numbers off of. This means that this poll could be biased and skewed since Fox is a right-leaning news source.

The article later states that Prime Minister May is “icey” towards Trump. This is language that is mostly used for women, so it is inherently misogynistic in my opinion. By Fox using this kind of language, whether they meant to or not, puts Trump at an advantage based word choice. Women who assert themselves are considered “icey” whereas men who are assertive, such as Trump are considered strong leaders. The article goes on to state that the political climate in the US is much more divided than it has been in years past. I agree with this part of the article, but the reasoning is just because he has been able to keep his base due to nontraditional tactics. In the article, it states, “It’s important to recognize that a lot of international leaders are faring much worse [than Trump]. And Macron is a great example. Huge expectations, and [he] has dashed them at most every turn,”. Trump has seemed to deliver what his base wants, and that is why his approval ratings are so high.

While there are issues in European countries, there is ideological bias based on skewed polls and biased writing. This is frustrating to read because while it may seem like Trump’s approval ratings are doing well, he is still caused a huge amount of unrest that is being ignored by right-wing media.

 

Work cited

Lott, Maxim. “Despite Heat at Home, Trump Approval Ratings Tower above Embattled European Leaders’.” Fox News, FOX News Network, Dec. 2018,

Media Diary

This past week, I was tasked with recording where I primarily find my news. I tried to make a conscious effort to get a wide variety of news from a few different outlets. This assignment made me realize how accessible the news really is. I was able to receive news from all my social media outlets on top of the other outlets I searched for. The fact that I can get news from Snapchat and Instagram makes me want to tell everyone how easy it is to follow the news. It just shows how people sadly don’t care enough to simply open an app and quickly receive a few pieces of news. This week I primarily looked at the Legislative Clips provided by the Texas State Capitol and the New York Times, including their own podcast, The Daily.

I love the Legislative Clips because it is an accumulation of a variety of different news sources from around Texas. While I love politics and the news in general, the Legislative Clips offer news from around Texas, which is my true love. It also offers news from both conservative and liberal news publications. This is my favorite kind of news because It gives me a different perspective on what’s happening all around Texas. I also like keeping up the Legislative Clips, especially right now, because they are the most detailed when covering the Beto vs. Cruz senate race. I think that sometimes people can get caught up with their one news outlet, whether that be more left or right leaning, so it’s important to me to find news that is a balance. I think this reflects my political affiliations because while I do lean left, I think it’s incredibly important to be educated on both sides of the news. The second news source that I primarily use is The Daily, a podcast put on by the New York Times. The reason I appreciate this podcast so much is because it’s quick and easy to listen to on the way to work, school, or just getting ready in the morning. It’s called The Daily because it gives a daily dose of the news in one concise place. While the New York Times leans left, The Daily gives mostly the facts, which I appreciate. The podcast also brings on guests to get a better perspective on the news stories they are covering. The Daily put on a few podcasts involving the Kavanaugh hearing, and this is where I got my news involving that besides actually listening to the testimonies.

After tracking the kinds of news I watch, I realized that I appreciate news sources that either give me stories from both sides, or just the facts. I like being able to make my own decisions on what I think about current events and not have one biased source dictate that for me. I also noticed just how easy it is to keep up with the news if you want to. Social media is changing the way our society looks at the news. While I don’t get most of my news from social media, a large amount of younger people do. Overall, I think being informed on what’s going on locally, nationwide, and worldwide is what will make us a more informed and educated society.   

I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who has not.

Sarah Shields