Introduction
The media greatly influences how people view events and situations today. As news consumers, we depend on the media to give us reliable, balanced information. However, how news is presented and processed may significantly impact how we see and comprehend the world. In this essay, we’ll compare and contrast two news articles about the same occurrence or problem that appeared in several traditional mass media outlets. We will address any potential media bias in the articles under analysis, who owns the media outlets, and how each participated in framing and priming within the news items.
For this project, I’ve selected two news articles regarding the Washington, D.C., Capitol riots on January 6th from two sources. The New York Times and Fox News are the sources of the first and second articles. The New York Times Company, a publicly traded business, owns The New York Times. Fox Corporation, a publicly listed company, owns Fox News. A board of directors controls the material created and released by each corporation’s media channels.
Analysis of Media Coverage on the January 6 Capitol Riots in The New York Times and Fox News
The New York Times Article
According to the New York Times article’s main frame, a violent crowd invaded the Capitol and halted the certification of the presidential election results. The demonstrators, who are represented in the piece as Trump supporters, are primarily responsible for the harm and violence. Words like “rioters,” “vandals,” and “insurrectionists” are used to describe the demonstrators in a derogatory manner (Fandos & Cochrane, 2021). Politicians like former President Obama and president-elect Joe Biden are quoted in the piece criticizing the violence and urging restraint. The article’s thesis implies that the protestors’ activities were illegal and aimed to overturn the election results.
The Fox News Perspective
In contrast, the January 6th events are depicted as a protest that descended into violence in the Fox News piece. According to the story, a “crowd of Trump supporters” protested the certification of the election results by marching to the Capitol. The demonstrators are referred to as “angry” and “frustrated” in the language employed, which is one of pity (Fox News, 2021). The piece also contains quotations from Republican leaders who both denounce the violence and defend the protestors’ right to peaceful demonstrations, as well as from President Trump, who calls on the demonstrators to “go home in peace.” (Fandos & Cochrane, 2021) The article’s thesis posits that the protestors’ justification for taking action was a sincere belief that the election results were fraudulent.
Comparison
Both pieces participate in framing and priming by focusing on specific details of the events and utilizing language and quotes that support their respective frames. While Fox News portrays the events as a rally that became violent, the New York Times portrays them as a violent assault on the Capitol (Fox News, 2021). While Fox News primes its viewers to sympathize with the protestors and their complaints, the New York Times primes its readers to see the protesters as unlawful and dangerous.
Both articles show a blatant prejudice in favor of their political beliefs regarding media bias. By portraying the demonstrators as violent extremists driven by a desire to undermine the valid election results, the New York Times piece demonstrates leftist prejudice. By portraying the demonstrators as patriotic Americans expressing their right to demonstrate against what they believe to be a corrupt election, the Fox News piece demonstrates a conservative bias (Fox News, 2021). Both stories leave out details of the events that don’t suit their narratives, such as the nonviolent demonstrations that took place on January 6th and the fact that Congress supported the election results despite the protests.
Conclusion
Consequently, the framing and priming of the New York Times and Fox News articles about the January 6th Capitol riots differ, with the former framing the events as a violent attack on the Capitol by unauthorized protesters and the latter framing them as a protest that turned violent due to dissatisfaction with the election results. The biases toward their different political views are evident in both papers.
References
Fandos, N., & Cochrane, E. (2021). Mob Attack, Incited by Trump, Delays Election Certification. TheNew York Times. Web.
Fox News. (2021). Pro-Trump protesters breachCapitol, disrupt Electoral College count. Fox News. Web.