[Karah Rucker]
THERE’S A PATTERN IN HOW THE NEWS MEDIA COVERS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S MEETINGS WITH FOREIGN LEADERS.
NEWS OUTLETS THAT HAVE A LEFT AND RIGHT POLITICAL LEAN –
ARE NOT SHYING AWAY FROM THAT BIAS –
INSTEAD IT’S ON FULL DISPLAY IN A BID TO CONVINCE YOU WHETHER THE PRESIDENT DID A GOOD OR BAD JOB.
IT’S AS IF THESE MEETINGS WITH WORLD LEADERS ARE SCORED LIKE A SPORTING EVENT —
WON OR LOST BY THE PRESIDENT.
BUT SINCE WHEN DID THE NEWS MEDIA BECOME JUDGES OF HIGH PROFILE MEETINGS RATHER THAN JUST REPORTING ON WHAT HAPPENED.
WELCOME BACK TO BIAS BREAKDOWN.
PRESIDENT TRUMP MET WITH CHINA’S PRESIDENT XI JIN PING DURING HIS VISIT TO ASIA.
AND IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR LEFT AND RIGHT NETWORKS TO COME UP WITH THEIR OPPOSING TAKEAWAYS.
STARTING WITH CRITICISM FROM MSNBC ON THE LEFT.
“united states versus china, who backed down? Really? And the answer is america backed down or trump backed down.
this followed trump’s typical pattern, several weeks before the summit meeting he created a crisis in a failed effort to generate leverage.
china knew that would be the case all along which is why they didn’t have to make real concessions.
“the world has now learned that when president trump plays a a game of chicken with powerful countries like china, they push back and shows that we’re weak.”
BUT FOX NEWS ON THE RIGHT OFFERED PRAISE.
“i think it was a huge success and only president trump could have pulled that off.”
“by any definition you have to characterize the trip as successful.
Xi is paying attention to what is happening across the globe and president trump’s influence and the world’s number one global leader by far.
but the truth is no president in american history has ever been this tough on china.
remember no president has ever been this successful in getting china to stop fentanyl chemicals, not even close.
IT’S NOT JUST CABLE NETWORKS PUTTING THEIR OWN SPIN ON HOW THE MEETING WENT.
BUT NEWS ARTICLES ARE ALSO STRATEGIC WITH THEIR FRAMING.
THESE OUTLETS ON THE LEFT FRAME CHINA AS THE “WINNER” –
REPORTING CHINA WAS THE ONE “WALKING AWAY STRONGER” –
AND THAT “THE ADVANTAGE” AND “UPPERHAND” BELONGED TO XI JINPING.
BUT HEADLINES FROM NEWS OUTLETS ON THE RIGHT FRAMED THE MEETING VERY POSITIVELY IN THE UNITED STATES’ FAVOR –
INCLUDING QUOTES THAT DEEMED THE MEETING AS “AMAZING” –
AND A “MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT” FOR TRUMP –
AND PORTRAYED CHINA AS “OPENING THEIR WALLET” FOR THE U.S. AG INDUSTRY.
THIS STORY IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE MEDIA “SPINS” A STORY INTO A POLITICAL NARRATIVE.
WHICH IS A FORM OF MEDIA BIAS IDENTIFIED BY MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUP “ALLSIDES.”
BY DEFINITION, THIS TYPE OF BIAS IS MORE BROAD — BECAUSE IT OFTEN **INCLUDES ***OTHER FORMS OF BIAS.
SOMETIMES, MULTIPLE TYPES OF BIAS CAN APPLY TO A SINGLE STORY —
OR EVEN TO THE WAY A SINGLE SENTENCE IS FRAMED.
MEDIA BIAS DOESN’T ALWAYS FIT NEATLY INTO JUST **ONE CATEGORY.
IT CAN LOOK MORE LIKE A VENN DIAGRAM — WITH DIFFERENT BIASES OVERLAPPING AND WORKING TOGETHER TO **SHAPE HOW A STORY IS TOLD.
HERE’S A QUICK EXAMPLE from a news analysis piece from the new york times.
A news analysis is separate from the news or opinion sections.
It’s supposed to add more context to the facts and provides the reporter with a bit more discretion in the wording they use.
While the writer can provide more perspective in this sort of article, the piece should still be grounded in factual reporting and clearly signal when a statement is opinion.
THE NEW YORK TIMES FIRST PARAGRAPH reads– “When Xi Jinping walked out of his meeting with President Trump on Thursday, he projected the confidence of a powerful leader who could make Washington blink. The outcome of the talks suggested that he succeeded.”
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF BIAS BY SENSATIONALISM – USING EMOTIONAL AND DRAMATIC LANGUAGE – LIKE SAYING XI JINPING COULD “MAKE WASHINGTON BLINK” – THAT ADDS A NARRATIVE FLAIR TO THE FACTS.
IT ALSO SHOWS WORD CHOICE BIAS. CALLING XI JINPING A “POWERFUL LEADER” ISN’T ATTRIBUTED TO ANYONE — IT’S THE WRITER’S OWN DESCRIPTION.
IT’S ALSO BIAS BY “OPINION STATEMENTS PRESENTED AS FACT.”
THE WRITER SAYS THE OUTCOME OF TALKS “SUGGESTS” XI JINPING SUCCEEDED.
THAT IS AN OPINION AND AGAIN NOT ATTRIBUTED TO ANYONE BUT RATHER JUST STATED AS FACT.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE FORMS OF MEDIA BIAS. A TEXTBOOK CASE OF MEDIA **SPIN.
WHILE THESE HEADLINES AND TALKING HEADS WE’VE SHOWN YOU SO FAR **EMPHASIZED WHETHER THE U.S. OR CHINA – TRUMP OR XI – LOOKED STRONGER OR CAME OUT BETTER –
THOSE ARE **OPINIONS.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE KEY FACTS OF THE DEAL – WHICH IS A TEMPORARY ONE-YEAR “TRADE TRUCE” – STATED PLAINLY IN THIS CLIP FROM AN NBC NEWS REPORT.
on tariffs, president trump reduced steep taxes on chinese imports by 10 percent. In exchange, china will suspend restrictions on rare earth materials, work to reduce the flow of fentanyl to the U.S. and resume buying soybeans from American farmers.”
AND THE STICKING POINT OVER SOYBEANS HAS BEEN A TOPIC IN THE NEWS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER CHINA STOPPED BUYING THOSE FROM THE U.S. IN A RETALIATORY MOVE OVER TRUMP’S TARIFFS.
CBS NEWS GAVE MORE ON THAT.
“they’re going to buy more soybeans which has been an issue for the last several weeks because china was instead buying them from argentina which has been detrimental to farmers who had the expectations china would be buying them.”
WHILE STATING THE FACTS OF THE STORY –
AND WHILE OFFERING ***CONTEXT OVER THE ISSUE –
IS IMPORTANT FOR JOURNALISTS TO DO –
THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN OFFERING THAT SORT OF ANALYSIS –
COMPARED TO A REPORT THAT ADDS POLITICAL SWAY IN THE FORM OF MEDIA SPIN TO ITS STORY.
BUT WE SEE THESE BIAS TACTICS OFTEN IN LEFT AND RIGHT MEDIA COVERAGE OF THESE MEETINGS BETWEEN WORLD LEADERS.
WHEN TRUMP MET WITH PUTIN IN ALASKA –
THE MEDIA TOOK SIDES.
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A LEFT OUTLET CALLING IT A VICTORY FOR PUTIN.
AND A RIGHT OUTLET HIGHLIGHTING PRAISE FOR TRUMP.
OR THE MEETING BETWEEN TRUMP AND SOUTH AFRICA’S PRESIDENT IN THE OVAL OFFICE – WHERE TRUMP QUESTIONED THE FOREIGN LEADER OVER CLAIMS OF GENOCIDE TARGETING WHITE FARMERS IN THE COUNTRY.
LEFT-LEANING NPR CALLED IT AN “AMBUSH” BY TRUMP.
RIGHT-LEANING THE DAILY WIRE FRAMED IT AS TRUMP “CONFRONTING” THE LEADER.
THESE WORD CHOICES SHAPE THE AUDIENCE’S PERCEPTION – PORTRAYING THE ACTIONS EITHER AS HOSTILE OR AS AN ASSERTION OF U.S. POWER.
AND THEN ONE OF THE MORE HIGH-PROFILE OVAL OFFICE MEETINGS CAME EARLIER THIS YEAR DURING ZELENSKYY’S MEETING WITH TRUMP IN FEBRUARY –
WHEN THE TRIP WAS CUT SHORT AFTER A TENSE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO.
AND MEDIA PUNDITS FROM THE LEFT AND RIGHT WERE QUICK TO CONDEMN EITHER TRUMP OR ZELENSKYY – ONCE AGAIN — THE MEDIA CHOOSING A SIDE – AND CHOOSING HOW **YOU SHOULD SEE THE EVENT.
“Now standing against our allies of the last 80 years, now siding with russia. No longer siding with the free world, now siding with the authoritarian governments in the world.”
“And maybe as some have speculated, that was a premeditated ambush.
“Or maybe that was just a big ol gift to his pal vladimir putin.”
“Have you ever seen a foreign leader come into the oval office and talk this way? Everyone knows if Zelenskyy would’ve come in, signed the deal, showed some gratitude, it would’ve gone a long way.”
“We’re not going to be disrespected, we’re not going to swindled we will not be bullied. The ukrainian president frankly in many ways disgraced himself.”
CAN YOU SEE THE PATTERNS OR THE SIMILARITIES IN HOW THESE MEETINGS ARE COVERED?
WE OFTEN SEE AN UNDERLYING THEME BY THE PARTISAN MEDIA IN THEIR COVERAGE OF THESE WORLD STAGE EVENTS.
RATHER THAN JUST REPORTING THE FACTS OR KEY TAKEAWAYS –
THE COVERAGE BY SOME NEWS OUTLETS IS STEEPED IN A POLITICAL AGENDA – INCORPORATING **MULTIPLE FORMS OF MEDIA BIAS – WHICH IS A KEY INDICATION OF MEDIA SPIN.
AND THAT’S YOUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.
