"Don't you dare!" A look at a politician's use of the media

Politicians understand the crucial role that media plays in a citizen’s everyday life. This is precisely why politicians use the media in ways that advance their own political agendas. Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy understands that he has the power to persuade in his influential position, and using this to condemn and oppose the broadcasting of NASCAR’s NRA 500 in the midst of the Senate’s consideration of legislation to reduce gun violence. As a single senator urging broadcasters to pull the NRA sponsored race from the schedule, Murphy gives the media an easy narrative for the press and public to follow, therefore enhancing his spotlight in coverage.

"I write today to urge you to not broadcast NASCAR's NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13th," Murphy stated. As the serving Senator of Connecticut in the wake of the Newtown school shootings, Murphy’s case is all the more influential and substantive. Having been devastated in his first term by this tragedy, Senator Murphy pleaded to News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch to prevent the airing of the NRA race on Fox News.

Lucy Madison of CBS News quotes Murphy as having called the airing of this race "the celebration of guns, inappropriate in the wake of the shootings and argued that broadcasting this race, which will highlight the NRA and its radical agenda during this time, sending a harmful signal to the families affected by gun violence, as well as the millions of Americans who support sensible gun control measures and enjoy your sports programming."

Photo Courtesy of DallasNews.com

CBS News also mentions that Senator Murphy is urging for the pulling of this race because it also features the live shooting of guns at the end of the race with the winners of races at the Texas Motor Speedway usually given two revolvers and a cowboy hat as prizes. As Murphy rests center stage during this high profile topic, one could question whether his motive is to spare viewers of the emotional ties to guns, or simply to take advantage of an obviously sensitive issue in order to advance in the media spotlight. Murphy even pointed out the irony of the situation by playing off of Murdoch’s own support of stricter gun control laws and asking, “why would Fox now essentially endorse the NRA’s extreme position against such laws.”

 Senator Murphy went as far as writing directly to NASCAR, according the CBS News, and urged the company to change the name of the race if they insisted on broadcasting it. NASCAR responded that, “as a sport, we are in the business of bringing people together for entertainment, not political debate.” There is no sign that Fox Sports will break their contract with NASCAR, even considering Senator Murphy’s pleas.

Since Murphy was Senator of Connecticut during such national news coverage as the Newton school shootings, Murphy can be categorized as a high profile political member. As a first-time serving Senator, Murphy is also mindful of his media coverage in terms of affecting his chances for re-election, possibly a great motivator in his pleas with Fox News and NASCAR. By shining his own spotlight to attract the media, in the face of such a hot topic as gun control legislation, Murphy gains prominence in the media with each action on his part. By fighting on behalf of constituents in strong support of gun control legislation in light of the Newtown shootings, Murphy is certainly paving his way for re- election. Though the argument can be made that Murphy is simply acting as a show horse politician here, he still felt he had the power to use the media in this way because of his position, as countless politicians before him.

Sources:
Madion, Lucy. "Conn. senator to Murdoch: Don't air NASCAR NRA race." CBSNews.com, sec. Politics, April 12, 2013. Web.

Weighing the Balance: Spotlighting the Bias

News media has been accused of overwhelming bias for years, despite an underlying duty to remain objective. Several issues defy objectivity, and many argue that objectivity in the news is simply not possible. All presentation of the news involves choices such as the order in which to present the news, word choice, what to put in a story, what to omit, and visual aids to accompany the story.

Modern news media has such an overwhelming number of outlets that viewers often choose programming that fits their tastes and ideological preferences, reinforcing preexisting political beliefs. Partisan media hosts make partisan leanings clearly evident, and reinforce partisan bias that overwhelms modern news coverage. This in turn affects the nature of news itself, in that, people get only a very narrow understanding and perception of the news when they seek only "one side" of any given story. Media bias is evident in many news outlets by simply analyzing key factors of word choice in content and visual framing choices.

Senator Rand Paul, a republican of Kentucky, held a 13 hour filibuster arguing future presidential drone authority, in turn delaying a final vote confirming John Brennan as CIA director on Wed. March 6. MSNBC, a liberal leaning news outlet, titled their article on the event: “McCain, Graham assail Rand Paul on targeted killings policy.” Right away the title shows the power of word choice for journalists. MSNBC uses the word “assail” to explain the friction between these republican senators and the words “targeted killings policy” to explain the drone policy. These words hold more negative connotations over the positive language focused on a “successful” or “victorious” filibuster on behalf of conservatives. This in itself proves the intended tone. MSNBC seems to want to frame an association among republicans and targeted killings, an associated undoubtedly negative and purposefully controversial and divisive.

 MSNBC includes quotes from Senator Paul about bazookas and rocket launchers – a framing to portray the GOP as silly and extreme, no doubt. Though conservatives, liberals, and independents alike seem to hold issue with Senator Paul’s statements, the quotes included by MSNBC gave a sense that the Republicans were a party divided by conflict and confusion, by including quotes of the GOP directly attacking their own:

 “‘I find the question offensive,’Graham said Thursday on the Senate floor. ‘As much as I disagree with President Obama and as much as I support past presidents, I do not believe that questions deserves an answer. Paul’s question cheapens the debate.’”

 They also included this quote from Texas senator Ted Cruz to reinforce this idea:

“After repeated questioning from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Holder finally said it would also not be constitutional. Holder said, ‘I thought I was saying ‘no.’ ‘All right, no.’”

 The words MSNBC chose focused on the quarreling of the Senators rather than the policy, also including a quote of Graham scolding Senator Paul:

 “a lot of my colleagues are well-meaning but there is only one commander-in-chief in our Constitution,” said Graham.

 MSNBC also visually portrayed division among the GOP by choosing pictures of senators McCain and Graham quarreling amongst themselves about Paul.

Photo Courtesy of MSNBC News

In this structure and content format, liberal party identity was strengthened by emphasizing this conflict among the GOP. Though the intention may have been to remain as neutral as possible, MSNBC clearly made choices in news content, images, and word choice that proclaimed liberal leanings and intentions. These factors can be analyzed in any news story in order to weigh and spotlight media bias.


Sources:

FoxNews.com. "Sen. Paul declares 'victory’ after Holder offers assurance on drones." Fox News, sec. U.S. Senate, March 7, 2013. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/07/historic-filibuster-renews-bipartisan-focus-on-drones-regulation/ (accessed March 7, 2013).

Curry, Tom. "McCain, Graham assail Rand Paul on targeted killings policy." NBC Politics, sec. National Affairs, March 7, 2013. 17225441-mccain-graham-assail-rand-paul-on-targeted-killings-policy (accessed March 7, 2013).

"What did he say?" Soft News Promoted in State of the Union Address Coverage

            President Obama’s State of the Union Address was documented as the least-watched address since the Clinton Administration with 33.5 million TV viewers. According to The Washington Post, the President “averaged 43 million viewers in 2011 and 48 million in 2010. An impressive 52 million caught Obama’s first such speech, which was technically an address to a joint session of Congress.” The low average of viewers on Tuesday night could be blamed on several factors such as a careless and/or jaded constituency, but most likely the cause is that in an age of instantaneous technology there is no urgency to sit and watch a speech at a specified time on a specified channel knowing that coverage and commentary will be available through countless outlets online.

            While the content of the actual speech is available, I found that commentary regarding everything but the speech was much more prominently promoted. The day after the President’s speech, my Google RSS News feed featured more stories pertaining to Speaker Boehner and Vice President Biden’s facial expressions and the infamous water break of Marco Rubio, rather than the implications of the content of the President’s speech.

            The following video was the first story to appear on the news feed:

The focus here was not even on what the President said, but on the fact the Speaker John Boehner did not stand in support of the remarks.

            An article from the Courier-Journal was next in emphasizing that “the brief sip of water from Senator Marco Rubio may have gotten more immediate attention than any policy ideas” during the Republican rebuttal. As the water break gained more notice, Rubio sent a photo of the bottle from his Twitter account in an effort to poke fun at this awkward moment. Since then, Rubio has become the focus of many online jokes – even making it onto a few Memes. (Ken Thomas, Associated Press)

    

       What does all of this say about the state of the news industry in the U.S.? Why is it that my RSS news feed focused on face gestures, who stood and when, and the sip of water? I believe it speaks to the power of the visual component to the news and how we as viewers are affected by visually seeing an event, rather than simply hearing it.

          The fact is that these articles are more prominent and promoted on my news feed may very well have everything to do with America's“soft news” epidemic. For one, entertaining news is easier to quickly publish and cheaper for the news to produce. Secondly, it is what tends to be in demand, especially among my generation of 20 somethings. Essentially, newsmakers know what that we would rather hear about the awkward sip of water by Senator Rubio and how stylish First Lady Michelle Obama was, more so than the spiraling economy. They are just giving viewers what we demand in terms of news and conforming to the commercial pressures in U.S. news.

            Are the newsmakers to blame for this great promotion of soft news? The media gives viewers what is found to be most popular, therefore the public is just as responsible in this struggle between supply and demand. Perhaps we desire this soft news because it’s easier to “digest” in our fast paced daily lives; maybe we are just shaped that way culturally. Whatever the reason, articles about facial gestures, water bottles, and attire will surely continue to prevail in response to major speeches such as the State of the Union for years to come.

Sources:

Photos: Google Images
Video: Huffington Post Politics YouTube Channel
Articles:

De Moraes, Lisa. "TV Column: 33.5 million viewers tune in to Obama’s State of the Union address." Wall Street Journal, sec. Television, Feb. 13, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/tv-column-38million-viewers-tune-in-to-obamas-state-of-the-union-address/2013/02/13/c7d30774-762f-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html.

Thomas, Ken. "Marco Rubio water break during GOP response goes viral." Courier-Journal.com, sec. News, Feb. 13, 2013. http://www.courier-journal.com/viewart/20130213/NEWS03/302130064/Marco-Rubio-water-break-during-GOP-response-goes-viral.