RODHAM v. MEDIA BIASES

When comparing media outlets on the basis of liberal and conservative, most would consider Fox News to be more “right” and MSNBC to be more “left.” For this particular blog, I’ve decided to analyze both outlets and their portrayal of 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLET

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS COVERAGE OF "HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT"

Bill O’Reilly, American television host, author, syndicated columnist, and Fox News political commentator, did not take it easy on Clinton during his segment. The commentator used Fox as a media outlet to analyze Clinton on a segment called “Talking Points.”

Within the segment, he compares Hillary to President Obama. Soon after creating an image that Clinton is similar to Obama, O’Reilly states that income for working Americans is down slightly from when Obama initially took office. However, this statistic isn’t backed up by any evidence and can be viewed as a form of manipulation to persuade the audience. 

Next, O’Reilly reports that supporters of Hillary will vote for her no matter what and that her record of injustices don’t really matter when it comes to voters. By using this language, he generalizes a large group of people and by doing so, is presenting biased information.

Immediately following his first statement, the Fox News commentator presents a clip from Saturday Night Live. The clip pokes fun at Clinton. After the clip is shown, O’Reilly calls the actress portraying the role of Clinton, Kate McKinnon, “one of the best comedic performers he’s ever seen.” Choosing to display a video from a comedian that portrays Clinton in a negative light to only further prove your own points, satire or not, is a biased tactic.

Finally, the commentator ends his segment by stating that traditional American values are under siege, therefore Clinton has an advantage. This claim is biased because of the word traditional. What may be traditional values to him may be different from the traditional values of others.

LIBERAL MEDIA OUTLET

CLICK HERE FOR MSNBC NEWS COVERAGE OF "HILLARY UNDER ATTACK"

MSNBC’s “Hardball” is a led by an analyst named Chris Matthews. On this episode of Hardball, Matthews displays a segment called “Hillary Under Attack.” 

The name of the segment alone can create an image in the viewer’s head that influences them to see Clinton as a victim. This usage of language is meant to be manipulative. Throughout the episode, graphics and captions are displayed. Amongst the graphics shown, “GOP Steps Up and Attacks Hillary Clinton” is the most prominent. By showing the graphic throughout the segment, MSNBC is hoping to reinforce the idea that Clinton is the victim in the situation of the email scandal.

Also, the analyst talks about how the right wing may think that because of the email scandal, the Clinton’s may think they are above the law. They then back up this point by using Monica Lewinsky as an example. The entire premise of this argument is based on what they think the other side is thinking. This information is completely biased.

When comparing the two media outlets, I have noticed that neither can be fully trusted. While MSNBC tries to paint Hillary as victim, FOX News shows her as the villain who is out to siege traditional American values. From what I know about the potential Presidential Candidate, she wouldn’t want to be viewed as victim and she wouldn’t want to be viewed as a villain. While I understand that most news is biased, it is important to question all of the information being presented.