Some Examples of News Media Bias

Examples of pure bias by the mainstream media is fairly rare, but there are many examples of bias by association or bias by what gets reported. I like to get my news from C-SPAN. During the day (for the most part) they turn a camera on press conferences, floor debates, or have a camera crew follow around a candidate. There is very little commentary or op-eds. I can watch what happens and make my own conclusions. So it's interesting to watch an event on C-SPAN and then catch how the MSM handles it. You can tell the bias by the news station in what they choose to cover and how they put a spin on it.

1. A good example was the recent incident when Trump called a meeting with Congressional leaders (McConnell, Ryan, Schumer, Pelosi) for Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday morning Trump tweeted that Schumer and Pelosi were soft on crime, soft on immigration, wanted to raise taxes and that he expected nothing to come of the meeting that afternoon. Schumer and Pelosi subsequently decided not to attend the meeting since they figured "the President doesn't see a deal between Democrats and the White House."

So what was reported?
I saw Bret Baier's Fox News show later that afternoon state that Schumer and Pelosi had turned down an invitation to meet with Trump to discuss keeping the government running and avoiding a shutdown, then Fox showed a picture of Trump sitting in between two empty chairs with Schumer and Pelosi nameplates in front of the empty chairs. Implication--Democrats are afraid to meet with Trump and want to shut down the government.

CNN and MSNBC showed a graphic of Trump's tweet insulting the two Democrats then told how they declined to attend the meeting because of Trump's insults and tweet-baiting. They even brought up the "delusional" card. Implication--Trump is unfit to govern and he wants to shut down the government.

2. Headline half-truths. This one epitomizes what is wrong with the mainstream media. This one is similar to the joke about the NY Times reporting on the imminent annihilation of earth by an asteroid with the headline, "Earth to be Destroyed: Minorities and Children Hit Hardest"


From the Washington Post:
38 Percent of Americans Won’t Get a Sizable Tax Cut Under the Senate GOP Plan

Sounds bad, huh? "38 percent won't get a sizable tax cut". But consider--well that means that 62% WILL get a sizable tax cut! Why wasn't the headline "62 Percent Will Get a Sizable Tax Cut". Furthermore, the way the headline is written it allows that within that 38 percent are many people that WILL get a tax cut, just not "sizable" whatever that number is, and it is at the whim of the WaPo writer. Consider a baseball team that "only counts 38 percent of their games as losses", well their W-L record at the end of the season would be 100-62, that's probably good enough to win the division, certainly make the playoffs. Or consider a candidate that gets 62% of the vote. That's a landslide victory.

3. Opinions presented as news. This one always bothers me. Not so much during election season--there is some relevance--but for every day stuff an opinion poll simply is not news. You wonder why the MSM keeps running "news" stories about Trump's unpopularity ratings? It's a way for them to overtly show they disapprove of Trump. Or a "news" story about the number of editorials that have come out for or against a certain issue or person.

Here's a great compound example of this that also crosses another line. The NY Times ran an editorial recently condemning the GOP tax reform plan. But that wasn't enough for the NY Times. Oh, no, they went ahead and placed a call to action at the end of the op-ed piece imploring people to call their congressional reps and demand they vote NO on the bill. I don't think I've ever seen that before. But wait, there's more! TheHill.com "reported" on this, presenting it as a "news" story:

NY Times Editorial Board Tells Readers to Call Senators to Oppose GOP Tax Bill

Ha ha ha! Can you get any more blatant?!

4. This one is interesting, guilt by association.
Alcohol is already linked to 88,000 deaths each year. The Senate tax bill could add 1,550 deaths to that annual toll.

I had no idea the Senate tax bill was a drinker. Or that it could drive ("Story" is from Vox.com)

5. Celebrities as political experts/commentators
The West Wing’ cast hits Huckabee Sanders for comparing herself to character

So, one of the cast of the West Wing, a TV show which was canceled in 2006, took offense to something that White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said about the show. The cast member of the West Wing took umbrage because Huckabee Sanders compared her job to the job of the press secretary in the West Wing. This is simply another way for the MSM to slam members of the Trump administration
This is news, ladies and gentleman!

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for bias in the MSM. It's everywhere. Thing is, most of us are so inured by it, we hardly notice it, especially when it's practiced by "our side".

 

Apparently, the White House really is a dump — with work orders showing reports of mice and cockroach infestations in the West Wing, broken toilet seats in the Oval Office and numerous other problems.

White House officials made hundreds of requests for repairs, equipment and pest control in 2017 with the US General Services Administration — many of which were similar to those made in 2016 during President Barack Obama’s final year in office, NBC4 reports.

The work orders were similar in number and included reports of mice, cockroaches and even ants. The vermin reportedly infiltrated numerous areas on the grounds — including the White House Navy mess food hall, the Situation Room and the chief of staff’s office.



https://nypost.com/2017/11/30/turns-out-the-white-house-is-a-real-dump/

 

Senate Democrats warn GOP on defense spending

“All but four of the Senate's 48 Democrats on Tuesday warned congressional GOP leaders against pursuing a government funding plan that would boost defense spending for the rest of the fiscal year while leaving domestic priorities at current levels."

Senate Democrats warn GOP on defense spending


Oh-oh, sounds like the Republicans plan for increasing defense spending is in trouble. Uh, but wait a minute...

So, there are 4 Democrat Senators that aren't in the group opposed to increasing defense spending. Add them to the 52 Republican Senators and you more than enough votes to have an increase in defense spending.

Headline should have been:
Senate Democrats Powerless to Stop Defense Spending Increase

 

Woman Sexually Harasses Entire US House
.
.
.

 

This is from today. Notice Trump says "we will start working with Democrats", and then WaPo says Trump said "He might work with Democrats." WaPo changes 'will' to 'might' and 'we' to 'he'.


.
.


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

"Quietly" means done as an agenda item at a regularly scheduled, publicly attended city council meeting, and then reported on the front page of the city's largest newspaper above the fold...



Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

Take a look at this one from CNN. Almost every headline about Trump is negative. Look at the unflattering photo of Trump they used.

Buried in the bad headlines is the positive job report being reported as ho-hum. Notice the headline about Obama wanted to spark hope but was then victimized.

 

Meanwhile, here's how Yahoo Finance handled the job reports story:

February jobs report crushes expectations with monstrous number

 

Here's a great example from today.

Nearly half of America isn’t getting rich off of the historic bull run

President Donald Trump enjoys touting the stock market hitting all-time highs under his presidency. In fact, he’s tweeted about it 54 times, as recently as last week, since he entered the Oval Office. While causation is debatable, there’s a bigger problem — nearly half of Americans aren’t benefiting from the record-breaking milestones.

In a new survey of 5,000 people, personal finance site GoBankingRates found that 43.8% of respondents answered “no” when asked if they are currently investing their money.

[...]

When asking the screener question — “Are you currently investing your money?” researchers did not specifically tell respondents that investing includes retirement accounts like 401(k)s. If respondents were given that additional context, perhaps there would be a larger percentage of folks who do say they invest.

Nearly half of America isn’t getting rich off of the historic bull run
------------------

Most people see the headline and take it at face value. But a closer look shows that at least 56.2% are getting rich!

Notes:
1. "Nearly half" apparently equals 43.8%! In what world is 43.8% "nearly half"?!
Can you imagine extending this definition of "nearly half" to other areas?

• Hillary Clinton wins "nearly half" the electoral votes, still loses the election...(she won 43.1% of electoral votes)
• The Texas Rangers have won "nearly half" their games, yet are in last place in their division. Their record is 62-84. They have won 42.5% of their games.

2. Not alerting the poll takers that participating in your company's 401k plan constitutes investing should be considered poll malpractice. Not only that but Trump touting the stock market usually includes the phrase, "check your 401k's".

3. So how is Trump touting the stock market highs responsible for people not participating in it?

 

(From the NY Times)

Nikki Haley’s View of New York Is Priceless. Her Curtains? $52,701.


WASHINGTON — The State Department spent $52,701 last year buying customized and mechanized curtains for the picture windows in Nikki R. Haley’s official residence as ambassador to the United Nations, just as the department was undergoing deep budget cuts and had frozen hiring.


The curtains themselves cost $29,900, while the motors and hardware needed to open and close them automatically cost $22,801, according to the contracts. Installation took place from March to August of last year, during Ms. Haley’s tenure as ambassador.

Ms. Haley’s curtains are more expensive than the $31,000 dining room set purchased for the office of Ben Carson, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That purchase became so controversial that President Trump considered firing Mr. Carson, though the spending rules covering agency chiefs are different from those for ambassadors.

(and then... wait for it...)

A spokesman for Ms. Haley said plans to buy the curtains were made in 2016, during the Obama administration. Ms. Haley had no say in the purchase, he said.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

FEMA to test 'Presidential Alert' system next week

President Donald Trump may soon be communicating with you directly on your phone — even if you don't follow him on Twitter.

Next Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones.

"The EAS [Emergency Alert System] is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency," FEMA said.

The test message will have a header that reads "Presidential Alert," according to the agency.

Experts didn't appear to be too concerned that Trump, known to use his smartphone to blast opponents, berate subordinates and take shots at the news media on Twitter, could abuse WEA.

FEMA to test 'Presidential Alert' system next week
-----

Why is this even included in the story?
"Experts didn't appear to be too concerned that Trump could abuse the system..."

Trump "blasts", "berates," "take shots". What does that bring to the story?



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

From the Washington Post:

President Trump traveled 250 yards to greet George W. Bush. He used a stretch limo and an eight-vehicle motorcade to make the trip.
President Trump traversed a wide political chasm Tuesday evening when he personally welcomed George W. Bush, his occasional foil, to Blair House, the presidential guest quarters across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
But the actual distance was just 250 yards — a route Trump and his wife Melania traveled in the presidential parade limousine, with a motorcade of at least seven other vehicles.

It was the latest in a series of magnanimous gestures that President Trump has made this week to honor the legacy of former president George H.W. Bush, whose state funeral will take place at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday.

The need for the motorcade, however, prompted questions, and a healthy dose of speculation, about why the Trumps were unable — or unwilling — to simply walk across the street.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...e2f864d47e7_story.html?utm_term=.cefe8f6dadfe
----------------

From Michelle Obama's book, "Becoming":