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ggOmaZzanG
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Country: United States
State: Virginia
Birthday: 9/17/1988
Gender: Male
Interests: bum around, cs, and piss off people online
Expertise: nothing
Industry: Government
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
10/5/2002
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| List the papers & their publication date.
-Washington Post, October 3rd 2005
-USA Today, October 3rd 2005
-New York Times, October 3rd 2005
-Washington Times, October 3rd 2005
1. Discuss the simliarities and differences of the stories chosen for
the front page. Include discussion of where stories are placed,
accompanying pictures, etc.
In both the Washington Post, and USA tooday, there
was a large section on the high gas prices and the angry reactions from
the public. In USA today, the Washington Post, and the New York Times,
there was a small article on the side talking about the boat crash in
Lake George. In all the papers except for the New York Times, there was
a headline pertaining to sports in the middle of the front page.
Pictures of joyous football players and baseball coaches were
displayed. The Washington Post and Times both had a section to the side
on Delay and his indictments. In all four of the newspapers, there was
an article about the people getting back on their feet after hurricane
Katrina. Pictures of churches reopening, granpa with his grandson, and
other pictures that stirr up emotion accompanied these articles.
2. Provide analysis of what you believe this placement indicates.
The people generally want the front page of the
papers to be attention-grabbing and eye-catching. The average American
would be more likely to purchase a newspaper when he sees the headline
about his favorite sports team rather than when he sees an article
about updates on the latest tax reforms in Congress. Also, an issue
that directly affects the individual himself would compel him to
purchase the newspaper. An example of this is gas prices. Because it is
such a big issue that affects nearly everyone in the country, the
publishers of the newspapers found that it was important enough to put
on the front page. Lastly, articles on events that does not normally
occur would also be effective in catching peoples attention. The
aftermath of one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the country,
and the boat catastrophe that killed many senior citizens would go
under the category as rare events, thus catching peoples' attention as
it is placed on the front page.
3. List the issues on the editorial pages.
Washington Post
Media protection
DeLay
McCain
USA today
Funding of Katrina relief
Government involvement
DeLay's indictment
FEMA
New York Times
Democracy of Russia
Government spendings on Katrina
Bill Clinton
Washington Times
Indictment of DeLay
Government spending
Energy security
Reality about Iraq
4. Indicate the ideology of the newspaper based on the bias of the
editorials. Explain how you know. Address how the paper attempted to
achieve balance in its editorials and analyze how well they succeeded.
The New York Times seemed to be slightly more
liberal than the others. The editorials were leaning strongly towards
more government spending, and strongly against the 'illegal' war in
Iraq. These are views supported by liberals. It is understandable that
the New York Times would be more liberal than conservative, because of
its large urban population. USA Today also seemed to lean a little bit
towards the left end of the spectrum. The bias of the editorials were
that they were in support of sacrificing tax cuts to support the funds
for Katrina. Also, they viewed the indictment of DeLay (conservative)
as 'welcome relief'.
The Washington Times seemed to be central. Its
editorials expressed both support for the Iraq war (a view more likely
held by conservatives), as well as showing evidence of anti-Roberts (a
view more likely held by liberals). Similarily to the Washington Times,
the Washington Post also appeared to be centrist. Its editorial on
McCain complained about the 'incompetency of President Bush', but other
articles supported views that a liberal would support. Examples of this
is the DeLay editorial, which describes the indictment of DeLay
'threadbare' and is written in the perspective of a far right
individual.
The papers attempted to achieve balance by putting a
number of editorials that were supported by each ends of the spectrum.
I think the Washington Times and the Washington Post succeeded in
achieving balance in their editorials, because the impression they give
off is that they are unbiased centrist newspapers.
1. List the major stories covered in a one-half hour segment. List the days & times.
October 3rd, 2005.
CNN News, 7:20 P.M. to 7:50 P.M.
-Analyzing Miers
-DeLay indicted
-OJ Simpson case 10 year anniversary
-Garbage crisis in New Orleans
October 3rd, 2005.
FOX News, 8:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
-Tom DeLay indicted
-Harriest Miers
-Bush bouncing back
October 3rd, 2005.
MSNBC, 8:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
-OJ Simpson in horror show
-Valery - mother killed
-Tragedy on Lake George
-Woman sent to jail for sitting on bench
-National League Baseball
2. Describe how the coverage differed.
Many similar stories were covered on the three news
stations. There were, however, striking differences in the way in which
they were presented. A noticeable difference between the coverages was
how they viewed president Bush. FOX news differed from CNN in that it
interviewed people from both spectrums during the discussion of Harriet
Miers. Because CNN was liberal, the manner in which they described
Miers differed greatly compared to how FOX viewed her. (Liberals tended
to view Miers with skepticism, whereas conservatives viewed her more
positively.) Also, MSNBC covered the story of a woman who was
victimized for being arrested for sitting on a public bench that was
not shown in the other two news stations. Generally speaking, MSNBC
focused more on stories that would catch the people's attention, rather
than stories that were politically significant. MSNBC went on for 5
minutes talking about how a boat in a lake got tipped over, with
frequent shots of a traumatized 76-year-old woman sobbing about her
experience.
3. Analyze any political bias evident in the program and the ways that it became evident.
By looking at how the program covered the issue of
Harriet Miers, it was easy to distinguish liberal news stations from
the conservative ones. It was simple: conservatives tried to defend
Miers and chew up anyone who disagreed with them, and the liberals
bashed on her. Of the three news programs, CNN was a very liberal news
station. Just after 2 minutes, it became evident that CNN did not
approve of Bush as eagerly as the people of FOX did. During CNN's top
story of analyzing Harriet Miers, a political analysist quoted "Bush is
a president who goes with his gut. Hes someone who does not think
logically." Political analysists who talked on CNN did not
approve of Miers being appointed a Supreme Court justice most likely
because she was a conservative.
FOX was a conservative news station. When
political analysist Gingrich (conservative) was speaking during the
discussion about Miers. he claimed that Miers was a woman who
'thoroughly understands balance' and that she was fit for the position
of a Supreme Court justice. When John Flannery (liberal) came on to
talk about the same issue, he was chewed up by O'reilly. O'reilly
disagreed with Flannery on the notion that Miers was 'far right' and
anti abortion; he claimed that she was just 'against lawyers taking
support in abortion', and that 'not everyone who has the support of
Bush is far right'.
Because not many political issues were covered on
MSNBC, it was difficult to place it in one end of the spectrum or
another. However, MSNBC would more likely be liberal than
conservative. This is because of the story of the woman who got
sent to jail for sitting on a playground bench. The rule was imposed to
protect children from sex offenders, where only adults accompanying a
child can sit at the playground bench. The way in which the story was
covered conjured up sympathy for the woman, and most likely it would be
liberals who would support the victims.
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