The Big Two

Usually, I am not an avid viewer of Fox News. Sometimes I'll watch it if my roommates have it on or if I am flipping through the channels and see something interesting, but for the most part, I'll watch CNN if any TV at all. My main source for news is through the NY Times, both in print and online. I will also glance through blogs such as The Huffington Post and Politico and read the Wall Street Journal from time to time. While I try to absorb a good mix of different types of news, I am undeniably persuaded by media partisanship to some extent everyday...and so are YOU!

But today, I sat down, coffee and Easy Mac in hand, and watched both CNN and Fox for an hour each. Both stations covered some of the same stories, including the Swine Flu outbreak and how the Italian car company Fiat, who recently acquired Chrysler, wants to purchase a part of GM also. CNN obviously enjoys covering the Swine Flu, as they discussed the issue for about five minutes. They gave up to date statistics on the amount of cases in the US and worldwide, and then had an interview with a member of the CDC stating that the virus may hibernate in the summer. Fox had a much shorter segment on the flu, where they discussed how Mexico's Swine Flu cases are leveling off, which could mean the outbreak is not nearly as serious as initially thought. CNN also covered the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys training camp facility in Texas due to strong storms there.

Fox News covered some stories that CNN failed to mention, including the flash flooding in the Philippines which has left many people homeless, and about Citigroup and how they may need to raise at least 10 billion dollars in capital to stay afloat. They also covered a story about alcohol bootlegging that is occurring on Navajo Indian reservations, and how alcohol contributes to violent crime on these reservations.

When it comes to politics, both channels definitely put a partisan slant on their stories, with Fox News being the bigger culprit. They ran a story about how Obama should not blame former President Bush and his administration for the problems he faces with the country since his first 100 days have passed. They said that Obama was playing the "blame game," and that he will use this excuse later on down the line if the economy does not improve. On the other side of the spectrum, CNN ran a story about "the week ahead" for President Obama, which included mention that he will be visiting three foreign leaders this week. They also discussed David Souter's exit from the Supreme Court, and the challenge Obama faces when choosing a predecessor. The buzz is that President Obama will likely choose a woman to accompany Ruth Bader-Ginsburg or someone young so that they will remain on the bench for years to come.

Obviously both channels see Mr. Obama in a different light. Where is objectivity in news coverage? While a little partisanship is alright, people need to be able to decide for themselves how to think about political issues. Fox News is blatantly partisan and they know it. CNN says they are more balanced, but in reality they lean more to the left. Maybe we should all watch international news a bit more, such as the BBC, because they are much more neutral. Or maybe we need a mix of different types of media to get the full picture. As long as our news media outlets are owned by huge corporations with their own agendas, partisanship will be the norm in most forms of news.