Project Week: the End of the Shutdown

I’ve chosen two articles on the end of the shutdown of the American government: the first from MSNBC, and the second from Fox News (for those of you who are unfamiliar with American news giants, MSNBC is largely considered to slant news to depict Democrats favourably, whereas Fox does the same for Republicans).

Both articles generally relay the same information and use the same sources. Both laud the end of the shutdown, and disapprove of the congressional gridlock, which allowed this long-standing debate to ever reach the point of a shutdown. The key difference between the two is the general tone in which the articles are written: the MSNBC article is much more optimistic and upbeat about the future, quoting Obama saying: “We’ll bounce back from this. We always do,” nodding to America’s stereotypical image as the strongest, most resilient country. They continue painting the agreement in a positive light, quoting a senator saying: “We believe there is common ground (between the Democrats and the Republicans),” which is an interesting angle to take, considering that this agreement only funds the government until January of next year, with the debating on the most polarizing issue, healthcare, arguably the cause of the gridlock, postponed until then. Finally, MSNBC underlines how the shutdown has sent the public’s opinion of the Republican Party “plummeting,” according to recent polls.

Fox News’ article is much more grim, opening by qualifying the agreement as Obama’s “virtually condition-free increase in the debt ceiling,” which alludes to the popular American right-winger opinion that Democrats are careless spenders. They go on to call Obama’s healthcare law “unpopular,” and to further highlight that this agreement is not a proper solution because it only delays the resolution to the gridlock by a few more months. Finally, they say: “Obama got what he wanted,” which gives the reader the impression that the bad guy has won, whilst the Republicans "(…) fought the good fight.” Fox makes it abundantly clear that they are not supporters of the Democratic Party; in fact they view them quite unfavourably, a long-known fact to Americans (and to anyone who reads this article). Unsurprisingly, Fox makes no mention of the spiralling public opinion of the Republican Party.

These articles did not shape my opinion on the agreement to end the shutdown, however I wouldn’t doubt that they could sway the opinion of somebody who does not closely follow politics, or help solidify the position of someone who lets their political ideology cloud their view of political happenings. They are great examples of how media outlets can spin stories by putting emphasis on different elements of the story or using quotes in different contexts, as they both used the same sources and conveyed the same general information, all the while portraying the agreement in completely different lights, in accordance with their political views. This is why as an American I have learned to get my news from more balanced or international outlets, such as NPR or the BBC.

Colin Woodford

MSNBC article: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/53304197/ns/local_news-portsmouth_va/t/shutdown-over-obama-surveys-damage/#.UmHLNRZU5O4

Fox News article: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/17/senate-begins-vote-on-budget-bill-boehner-pledges-house-wont-block-it/