Introduction & On Evaluating Sources

Welcome everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm excited to read your blog posts, and I hope you enjoy mine.

This blog is called A Balanced Take because I plan to analyze the coverage of major global news sources for partisan leanings, then use what I have uncovered to craft my own summary of the news event that is as neutral and fact-based as possible. Essentially, each post will be a comparison of articles published by a few major media organizations on the same news story.

I will use the Ad Fontes Media Bias chart & AllSides Media Bias Chart to give myself a starting point for sources that might display a skew toward right or left wing coverage. My goal is to choose widely-read sources, including some that tend to skew toward a certain side of the political spectrum, thus encapsulating the varied perspectives of the mass media system. Within my analysis, I will also feature sources that are providing a more neutral view of the story. Ultimately, I hope to demonstrate the increasingly partisan leanings of mass media and journalistic organizations while combating “truthiness” by creating my own take on the story that reports only the facts while leaving out the bias and judgements I have uncovered in my analysis of the media coverage.

I'm well-aware that not every story that comes from a certain source will be inundated with bias, so I am not choosing the articles that I feature solely on where they were published. Instead, I will evaluate the article's headline and content for language and framing that skews toward one side or the other of the political spectrum. An equal number of left, right, and center headlines will be featured in each post. If I believe that a particular organization's report exhibits signs of partisanship, I will explain my reasoning in my analysis. I welcome any debate about my judgment of partisanship in the comments of each post!

Comments

On the US Lifting Restrictions on International Travelers

This week, restrictions on travelers entering the US that have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic were lifted. Reactions have ranged from joy to disapproval. Here is how some major media outlets covered the news: Tends to skew right: Breitbart: Tears, relief, long lines as US reopens borders after 20 months This article’s headline emphasizes the duration of the border shutdown and the emotional impact on those who were stuck or had family stuck overseas. It is not politically biased though, mentioning that Trump imposed the bans in 2020 and that they have been upheld by Biden until this point. One aspect that makes this article worthwhile is the original reporting it includes. It features quotes from people who reunited with their family at airports around the US, specifically JFK and Dulles airports. This made for an effective exploration of the issue this article covers. Overall, the tone of this article was much more positive than past articles I’ve read from t...

On Colin Powell's Death

On Monday, it was announced that four-star general and former secretary of state Colin Powell died at age 84 due to complications from COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated. Here is how a selection of media outlets covered his death. Tends to skew right: Fox News: Remembering Colin Powell upon his death: Former President Bush calls him 'a great public servant' This headline is interesting in that it informs the reader that Colin Powell has died, but uses a comment from former President Bush to characterize Powell rather than simply stating that he was a general or former secretary of state. As two significant figures of the Republican party, putting Bush’s name in the headline with Powell’s was likely done on purpose to attract more readers. The article itself opens with President Bush’s quote that Powell was a highly respected man, using the credibility of Bush to vouch for the credibility of Powell. The author describes Powell as a “trailblazer” and includes statements of memor...

On the House Censoring Rep. Gosar

This week, House members voted to censure Arizona Representative Paul Gosar for a violent video he posted to Twitter. Here is how a few mass media outlets covered the story: Leans toward the right: Breitbart: Cheney, Kinzinger Vote to Remove Paul Gosar from Committee Assignments A major thing that stands out about this headline is that it is not very clear. It never explains who Paul Gosar is or why he is being censured. Instead, it focuses on how two House Republicans voted in favor of removing Gosar from his committee assignments, and based on the content of the article this is because the author considers their actions a betrayal of their fellow Republican. The article even characterizes Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger as “so-called Republicans.” If you ask me, this is a fairly rude way to refer to members of Congress, especially when the article’s argument is that they disrespected another member of Congress. Additionally, in describing the situation, the article only me...

A Balanced Take

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