Blog 10: Press Coverage

The media is where the public learns about the government happenings. Going to government sources or doing research to find information first hand is time consuming and difficult so that is why news outlets are used because of accessibility and timeliness of pieces. However all news sources are not created equal, many sources have a clear and direct political opinion that will most likely influence the material they put on display. Depending on who is in control of the political party is dependent on what news will be seen or generated. Currently with Donald Trump in office it is highly anticipated that the news negatively picking at his every action will be more liberal leaning while news that inaccurately displays his successes will be more conservatively based. With Trump being such a polarizing character in politics he is talked about on most news sources I looked at regardless of political leanings, but again what is most recognized in differences across party lines is the content that is being displayed.

The more liberal left wing media source I used to seek out a news story from was Buzzfeed. This website is your typical trash news outlet that is more used for entertainment, but you also may be able to come to some semblance of understanding on a specific issue. The story on Buzzfeed was talking about the New England Patriot’s recent trip to the White House, but the greater emphasis was put on how starting quarterback Tom Brady was not in attendance. The story discussed that Brady was Trump’s favorite player  and good friend, which was attacked by Buzzfeed as to why he would be a no show if they were ‘buds’. Brady told the media he had a family commitment he needed to be in attendance for but this news article jumped to conclusions and depicted that the reasoning was due to Brady’s lack of support for the 45^th US president.

The more extremist conservative news outlet story I got was from the infamous train wreck that is Breitbart news. Breitbart is known for intolerant right winged rhetoric that usually speaks little to no truth. The story I saw was about how the US president Donald Trump and his chief strategist Steve Bannon made Time magazine’s top 100 most influential people. This is a typical fluff piece that is put on Breitbart in order to make Trump and his administration look good among the public. The story shares how much of an honor this is and how he is the one to change the status quo in DC like no other president has done before him.

The news outlet that I chose to gather a news story with the least amount of bias was from the Wall Street Journal. The news article found was discussing how Trump just signed legislation to extend a private care program for veterans. This story was very direct in displaying the facts with as little frill as possible. I also noticed that veteran care is a bipartisan issue that most if not all Americans fully support.

          From what I can tell, the media is setting the agenda and generating the news. Trump does not most likely particularly care that a member of the Patriot’s team did not attend on a visit to the White House. The media wants to portray the president and his administration in a light that is most beneficial to them gaining greater viewership from assessing the ideologies of their followers. The media has such a strong influence on what people think that it is to their benefit to set the agenda and put across material that reflects the position and direction of the news outlets intended purpose. The public is also very concerned with political image and news pieces that are more entertainment based so that really reflects in the framing of news and what is showed and what isn’t. Not all news stories can have prominent attention because of the large amount of news that is generated daily, so with the US being a public that is generally concerned with issues not as hard hitting it is common to see a many stories that deserve attention not get it. If I were advertising Trump I would of course want the pieces like Breitbart where it shows that Trump does no evil because it would help his tarnished image as a candidate and show his potential as a candidate. However showing this news would only be done to cover up the stories I would not want shared about Trump, which would not be a fair or an honest representation to the naïve and sometimes-gullible public.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/patriots-white-house-visit?utm_term=.xiBR1RVvK#.jcpgzgXZD

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-signs-legislation-extending-private-care-program-for-veterans-1492644471

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/04/20/donald-trump-steve-bannon-among-times-top-100-most-influential/