Skip to main content

Two Very Different Takes on the GOP Tax Bill

The Senate's Republican majority recently passed a bill which would dramatically overhaul the American tax code; on this fact everyone seems to agree. However, the varying language used by different news media outlets reveals that despite their pretensions of objectivity they have directly opposed opinions on the bill's merit.

For example, the word choice of Fox News' article on the subject is quite supportive of the legislation. The headline is resoundingly positive, including words like "victorious" and "confident" and speaking of "avoiding shutdown." It goes on to quote a number of Republican politicians who voted for or otherwise supported the bill, without including any opposing viewpoint. In fact, the only reference to Democrats in the article is a segment about how Republican concerns that they would attempt a government shutdown in protest of the bill were averted. Throughout this, word choice remains consistently positive, with the article describing those involved as "upbeat," "eager" and "optimistic" about their "success."

On the other side of the aisle, the Washington Post's coverage of the tax plan is thoroughly negative. It is described as "unpopular" in the headline, and polls demonstrating resistance to the bill are mentioned twice in the article. There is also a paragraph describing an analysis that it would add greatly to the deficit. In addition, the story covers the Democrats' opposition and quotes at length one of the senators who opposed the bill.

These two pieces are merely symptoms of a greater trend: ostensibly neutral reporting on any topic is in fact subtly expressing strong opinions on the subject.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Starman

(This poem may make more sense if you’ve seen what it’s about. If you haven’t, you can search for “Falcon Heavy Test Flight” on YouTube and skip to around 21:30 in the resulting video.) On the launch pad The first Falcon Heavy stands Fog flows from its three towering cores Jets of water rise in salute At the fire which kindles in their midst Surging smoke pours out from under, expanding outwards The rocket ascends Riding a tail of incandescent white Soaring into the wide blue Both boosters fall away Spinning and plummeting back Two pillars of steel pierce the sky from above And settle to Earth amid rings of flame Lines of glowing red stripe the upper engine’s smooth, wide nozzle The payload’s walls blast away In a blinding blaze of reflected sunlight A convertible drifts through the void Our planet’s reflection oozes across the car’s polished red surface A spacesuit is driving One arm draped over the side, it looks forward And flies off into...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's Not Fantasy, It's "Magical Realism"

As you probably remember (if you're in Mr. Starace's class at least), Ms. Heitz semi-recently gave us  this article  explaining what magical realism is and how it differs from fantasy. As I read it, I became more and more irritated, finally deciding that I needed to write something demonstrating how it is emblematic of a significant problem in how those who analyze literature view certain genres. Luckily, I have a blog where there is a possibility that someone might actually read my rant on the subject, so here are my thoughts on why magical realism is not a distinct literary genre, but a category of fantasy literature. Literary critics, wanting to feel more discerning than the average reader, are loath to ascribe literary merit to popular "genre fiction": fantasy, science fiction, mystery, horror, etc. They were thus presented with a conundrum when a new style of writing arose in Latin America. It was full of supernatural elements, and thus fit the standard defi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Media and I

When I think of media, several related but distinct concepts spring to mind. Most obviously, the word refers to social media and news media, but in reality it encompasses any means of conveying a message to many people, and thus deeply affects the life of anyone living in a modern society. As I am part of such a society, I am greatly influenced by the barrage of media to which I am exposed. While it is an integral part of my life, the type of media I consume is relatively atypical. For example, I barely use social media. My forays into that thicket have so far been confined to using Twitter for the singular purpose of following  @RealTimeWWII  and creating a Facebook account in order to join a group chat. This form of media has thus not yet significantly affected me, though this may well change in the future. The news media, on the other hand, is quite important to my thinking, as it provides the majority of the information I use to formulate opinions about the world. As I...
Post a Comment
Read more