Comparing U.S. election coverage between CNN and Fox News by Anna Goldizen

Introduction

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 12:53:38 UTC

For this project, I will be comparing coverage of U.S. politics, specifically the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the recent VP debate, among CNN and Fox News.

CNN Introduction

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 12:57:52 UTC

CNN is a news publication that covers both U.S. and international issues. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a media conglomerate, so it is independent and able to report freely. Many consider it to be a "left-leaning" news publication. In its "About Us" page, CNN states its mission is "to inform, engage and empower the world."

Fox News Introduction

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 12:59:07 UTC

Fox News is a news publication that, in contrast to CNN, is known for being right-leaning. In its "About Us" page, Fox News identifies itself as "an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace." Fox is owned by Fox News Media, which is owned by Fox Corporation, so it is independtly-owned.

CNN article 1: "36 key lines to explain the Vance-Walz vice presidential debate" by Zachary B. Wolf

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 13:16:49 UTC

This article, which was published on Oct. 2, 2024, was one of two U.S. presidential election stories published during the timespan of my news log. However, this article proves to be thorough and credible election reporting. In this story, CNN cites 36 main quotes from Vice Presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz during their debate. The article includes fact-checking of claims made by the politicians. For each statement made, CNN lists links to sources to either confirm or deny the claims made. There is a hint of bias in this story, in some places. An example is the line: "Vance directly answered the Israel question. One wonders how he would apply the “we should support our allies” test to NATO, the alliance Trump frequently criticizes." Another line with bias was " It was one of Walz’s stronger moments but came at the end of the debate." Sources can not verify a "strong moment," as that is subjective and not fact. However, the article also demonstrates balance in fact-checking, going on to correct statements made by not only Vance, but also Walz. For example, CNN explained that Walz misquoted a Bible verse from the book of Matthew. Additionally, the article mentions how Walz misspoke previously regarding the frequency of his trips to China. Overall, I think that this story, although it contains a few biased lines, is a thorough, and mostly-balanced article detailing the VP debate. There are links to sources to back up claims, and the quotes can be verified.

CNN article 2: "Jan. 6 thrust back into the spotlight in final election days" by Stephen Collinson

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 13:36:27 UTC

This article, which was published on Oct. 4, 2024, details how Trump's Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol is coming back into the spotlight for the U.S. Presidential election and once again garnering attention. There is a bit of bias in the lede, which says "Donald Trump’s attempt to unravel American democracy to stay in power four years ago is suddenly back at the epicenter of another election — weeks before the ex-president could pull off a stunning White House comeback." Stating that the event was an attempt to "unravel American democracy" is not a verifiable claim. The use of "stunning" seems to be biased as well. Additionally, the use of "a day that will stain American history" later in the article is very biased. Compared to the VP debate event coverage piece, I find this article to be, overall, not very thorough or fair, balanced election reporting. While several factual claims are backed with quotes and links to sources, many biased statements are made. Some claims, however, are not attributed to someone or something. For example, in the section "New fears that Trump threatens democracy," it is claimed that "The possibility of a Trump return to power is especially ominous for many Americans because he has vowed to wage a second term of “retribution” and is threatening to jail his political opponents." However, we are not told specifically which Americans said this, and this claim is difficult to verify.

CNN article 3: "October surprises are piling up, but a toss-up race seems impervious to shocks" by Stephen Collinson

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 13:52:04 UTC

This article was published on Oct. 3, 2024 and details three current events and factors that could have an influence on the upcoming U.S. Presidential election: Hurricane Helene, conflict in the Middle East, and the ongoing port strike issue. This article offers several claims that are verifiable as facts. For example, the story quotes several political figures to support claims. However, like his other article, Collinson makes a few claims that are not verifiable and seem biased. Specifically, he seems to be drawing his own conclusions. For example, he writes "One of the most bewildering aspects of the 2024 election is that a former president accused of trying to overthrow the previous election has an even chance of winning this one." While most would agree with this statement, it is an opinionated statement that is not fact.

Fox article 1: "Vance oozed confidence compared to jittery Walz, body language expert says: 'Captain of the ship'" by Michael Dorgan

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 13:59:16 UTC

This article was published on Oct. 2, 2024. There is bias even in the article's preview image, which shows a photo of J.D. Vance appearing calm and a photo of Tim Walz with widened eyes and a concerned expression, which seems to be a way of "supporting" the headline. In this story, Fox News speaks with a doctor who is a "body language expert." Rather than fact-checking statements made by the two, Fox consulted this expert to make claims that Walz was lying and anxious based on his body language, while also stating that Vance was the "captain of the ship" based on his demeanor and body language. The story later goes on to take a more event-coverage angle, citing events that occurred during the debate. However, claims are made with no support, such as "Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum largely agreed that Vance won the debate with a more polished performance in what was a highly policy-driven event devoid of personal attacks." These commentators are not named or cited.

Fox article 2: "Tim Walz said he went to China 'dozens' of times, now his campaign says its 'closer to 15'" by Alec Schemmel

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 14:03:42 UTC

This article, which was published on Oct. 1, 2024, fact-checks a statement made by Tim Walz regarding the number of trips he had taken to China. The article uses a credible source to confirm that Walz did misspeak regarding his trip frequency, citing his appearance on Minnesota Public Radio. Towards the end of the story, Fox begins to make claims with no clearly identifiable sources or proof. For example, the article states that "it has been alleged that Walz and his wife have made false assertions about their use of IVF as well." No proof is given to back up this statement. Later, an anonymous, unnamed source in the story is quoted as saying that Walz is a "habitual liar." While anonymous sources can be credible, named sources are typically the most credible. Overall, this story makes factual claims, but it also contains claims that cannot be verified.

Fox article 3: 'The View' host admits Walz 'dropped the ball' during VP debate: 'Wasn't in fighting mode'" by Hanna Panreck

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 14:13:01 UTC

This article was published on Oct. 2, 2024. Like several other Fox articles, as found in my news log, Fox often utilizes prominence as a news driver by including prominent figures and organizations in its headlines. Another example of this was a Fox article about Charlamagne Tha God praising a Trump advertisement. Fox also frequently uses quote headlines, as seen in this story. In this article, hosts from the television show "The View" are quoted on their thoughts following the VP debate. The quotes from the show are clearly verifiable, and hosts behind the quotes are named and identified. The majority of the article includes quotes from the hosts that criticize Walz's performance and responses during the debate, saying that he "dropped the ball" and "wasn't in fighting mode" in the headline. However, only one quote criticizing J.D. Vance is included, and it is placed at the very end. Although the claims and quotes in this story are verifiable, I do not find this to be a balanced story, as it only focuses on one side and may have pulled quotes out of context.

Evaluating CNN vs Fox

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 14:23:02 UTC

Although both Fox and CNN covered similar topics from Sept. 30-Oct. 4 regarding U.S. politics and the VP debate, both conveyed information in an extremely different manner. CNN tended to provide claims that are accompanied with clear, identifiable sources and links. Their reporting was thorough, especially their article on the VP debate, which included key lines and fact-checked both candidates. CNN also provided interesting perspectives on the election and explained factors that could influence the election. However, CNN was biased at times and made opinionated claims that could not be verified with a source. Overall, CNN's reporting tended to be thorough, credible, and verifiable with facts.

In contrast, Fox often provided claims that were not attributed to any sources, so they could not be verified. While they did not make outwardly biased claims like CNN, the angle and manner of their reporting often "oozed" bias. For example, they consulted "experts" to publish articles to prove a point but failed to explain what made that person an expert. Additionally, their reporting was not as thorough as CNN's. Additionally, I felt that Fox valued prominence, even sensationalism, above verifiable, thorough content.

Conclusion

ag00030 — 2024-10-17 14:24:58 UTC

In conclusion, while both publications are certainly not perfect, I found CNN to be more thorough and credible in its election and political reporting than Fox News within the timespan of Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2024. CNN was able to back up claims with identifiable sources. However, CNN also contained several biased statements, so it is important to exercise media literacy and consider both VIA and IMVAIN when looking at a source. It is also important to consider whether a statement is even verifiable and to fact check sources.

CNN article 2 quote

ag00030 — 2024-10-22 02:25:14 UTC

CNN article 2 quote

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CNN article 3 quote

ag00030 — 2024-10-22 02:28:10 UTC

CNN article 1 quote

ag00030 — 2024-10-22 02:30:00 UTC

Fox article 1 quote

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Fox article 2 quote

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Fox article 3 quote

ag00030 — 2024-10-22 02:33:31 UTC