The tendency of different media sources to cover the same story differently or with bias is common in the modern days. Obviously, this happens because of many reasons that operate in the background of each media station or forces behind influential individuals in various media. Of course, all the biases in the media attest to the popular notion that the media is not neutral. This is something that we can all agree. Noticing that claims must be backed up with facts, a close analysis and comparison of the coverage of president Obama’s speech on ISIS across the guardian newspaper, the fox news and the MSNBC news is key. For the fox news, the focus is on Chris Hayes analyses while, for the MSNBC news, the influence of Bill O’ Reilly to public discourse is pertinent.
The guardian newspaper is a quality national newspaper that is not affiliated to any political party. In essence, the guardian media espouse its liberal tradition as a profit making business managed in a cost effective and efficient manner. Regarding the president Obama’s speech, the guardian covered all the details of the speech without bias. In fact, the newspaper presents Obama’s speech on ISIS categorically without any editorial commentary. With the libertarian political standing, the guardian uses a straightforward language that does not evoke the emotions of the readers (the public) to influence their judgments. In addition, this newspaper does not either support or oppose Obama’s decision to launch air strikes in Syria and Iraq to fight the ISIS militants. Besides the high sense of neutrality, the guardian newspaper group have not been very successful in influencing public discourse-perhaps because most readers more emotive presentation.
In the fox news, covering the same story of the Obama’s decision to authorize air strikes in Syria, a different presentation of facts comes into play. While Bill O’ Reilly accepts that the idea is good, the overall presentation of the story seems to be critical. Noticeably, Reilly appears to support the common view that the Obama administration has failed to understand what is going on in the world. The message given out in the fox news concerning Obama’s action on ISIS to the citizens is more or less emotive. The fox channel favors some politicians for political gains, thus is prone to manipulation. Most likely, Reilly’s is influenced by political motives. In more than one occasions in the news, Reilly creates an impression that McCain can make a better leader than Obama. Purposely, the message relayed is targeted at the republican supporters-thus the reason there is a lot of small balling for Obama from the side of Bill Reilly. In essence, the fox news is put across to the people through the Fox news channel and online in the form of videos. The use of video makes the message powerful, easy to interpret and develops a nostalgic taste among the viewers.
Alternatively, the MSNBC news on Obama’s decision to authorize air strikes in Syria is also covered in a unique manner. Unlike in the Fox news, the MSNBC creates more footage for president Obama. Chris Hayes, who airs the program on the MSNBC channel seems to support the Obama administration and presents it as flawless. Obviously, the message put across is intended for supporters of the democrat alliance. Interestingly, the news support Obama’s reluctance to engage the ISIS militants in war- a view that Bill Reilly disputes with vigor. MSNBC is a satellite channel that gives a more or less neutral platform for putting across political opinion on current events in the United States. The MSNBC news and the msnbc.com provide an avenue for passing out messages. In terms of success, this channel registered an increase in the number of primetime viewers to 61% in 2008.
In conclusion, the tendency of different media sources to cover the same story differently or with bias is common in the modern days. The manner in which the media present political opinion influences the public discussions. Therefore, it is important for the media to be libertarian and give people true stories that can form the basis of making correct political choices.
Works Cited
Chris Hayes. "Is the ISIS threat going to blow up the Democratic coalition? « Hot Air."Hot Air. N.p., 9 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
The Guardian. "Barack Obama authorises air strikes against Isis militants in Syria | World news | theguardian.com." the Guardian. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
The O' Reilley Factor. "Bill O'Reilly: Does the Obama administration really know what is going on in the world? | Talking Points | The O'Reilly Factor." Fox News. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
