Last week, Congress passed a bill to temporarily fund the federal government through December 3rd, averting an imminent shutdown. Here is an analysis of how a variety of media sources covered the story.
Tends to skew right:
This headline is very to-the-point, with no noticeable bias in its language. However, the article uses a photo of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi looking stern, which seems picked to display her in an unflattering light. The article itself features accurate details about the bill, such as that it passed with 254 votes in favor and 175 votes against and that it will fund the federal government through December 3rd. The author mentions that “Senate Republicans continue to fight against raising the debt ceiling while Democrats want to spend $3.5 trillion on a reconciliation bill that has little to do with infrastructure,” a statement that mixes facts with significant bias. It tries to pass off the claim that the reconciliation bill is not related to infrastructure as a fact when in reality, that is an opinion. In other words, the article is purposely misleading. The reader consuming this information may not even be aware that they are being misled, which is a dangerous aspect of our increasingly polarized, partisan media system. Ultimately, this article informs the reader that a bill has been passed to avert a government shutdown, but leaves the reader with the impression that Republicans begrudgingly supported the bill and are being dragged along by Democrats who want to raise the debt ceiling and spend large sums of money on a faulty infrastructure bill. This is not a neutral depiction of the situation.
Trends toward the center:
Associated Press: Biden signs bill to avert partial government shutdown
The language of this headline is very similar to the neutral nature of the previous one, though the AP centers Biden signing the bill rather than the House passing it. Another noticeable difference is that the article’s photo is of the US Capitol building rather than a particular figure. This makes the point that many people were involved in averting the government shutdown, rather than dramatizing it by assigning the responsibility to a single person. There are multiple instances throughout the article where dramatic language is used, including “as the political parties dig in on a dispute over how to raise the government’s borrowing cap before the United States risks a potentially catastrophic default” and a mention of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning that the US “will probably face a financial crisis and economic recession” if the debt cap is not raised before the October 18th deadline. Overall, the information throughout the article is factual and not obviously tilted toward any side of the political spectrum. However, I do consider this article to be leaning into the other news biases like dramatization more than desired.
Tends to skew left:
Washington Post: Biden signs government funding bill hours before midnight deadline to avert shutdown
Of the three outlets, this one has the most dramatic headline. Nothing in it is inaccurate, but the emphasis on the last-minute bill signing does create a sense of urgency that portrays the event in a theatrical way. I noticed that this article was more vague than the previous ones and did not include specific numbers like how many votes the bill received. It does provide more information than the other articles about Congress’ future options regarding government funding, such as a continuing resolution and the potential reconciliation process. I appreciate this because the article avoids falling into the short-term, narrow view of many news reports. Overall, this Washington Post article features a broader overview of Congress and government funding without any overriding bias.
My balanced take:
After nearing the deadline, the House and Senate successfully passed a bill to temporarily fund the federal government through December 3rd, thus averting a government shutdown. In the House, it passed with 254 votes for and 175 votes against, with significant Republican opposition. Strife between the two parties regarding government funding is not over; the US will default on its debt if the debt ceiling is not raised by October 18th. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, this could create an economic recession and financial crisis. Ultimately, the passing of the funding bill is a temporary solution and Democrats and Republicans in Congress will need to work together to prevent further economic hardship from hitting the United States.
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