Fox News vs. CNN

Someone noted the other day the observation that Fox News' coverage of Katrina focused mainly on the death and looting, while CNN focused on the survivors and rescue efforts.

Well, here are two screenshots of their respective homepages right now to illustrate the point:

CNN:


Fox News:




[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by Keith]

You're cutting off the caption.
"New Orleans residents wait to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina."
I'd say that's focused on the survivors.

I honestly didn't notice the caption, and to me, that's the point.

What IS the point?

Fox focuses on negativity?

fox is evil. end of story.

If it bleeds, it leads

Fox focuses on the aspects which serve their ideological purpose: poor black people = savage animals, fear, world is insane, scary, Godless, your lack of empathy is justified, your prejudice is justified.. etc.


[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by Keith]

Why? Because they have a different lead than CNN.

Two different sites, competeing for the same impressions and clicks. Two different sets of editors. Lead an ongoing story from a different angle.

On a larger scale: Fox tends to approach stories from a neo con standpoint. CNN less so. So what? Do you want all the newspapers and news organizations to share the same POV? That sounds a little like censorship to me.

I'm not picking on any poster here. Just trying to figure out why this is a big deal.

Fox News was on during dinner yesterday and this guy who was talking to the host (a chubby guy in glasses) pretty much said that people who live in areas where natural disasters are likely to occur shouldn't expect the rest of the country (or the world) to cover the costs of rebuilding for them.

Also, Gonzalez is a damned poor hating, terrorist harboring socialist.

Good Christ, that's a bit of a leap Keith. IMHO.

How can you be a poor hating socialist?

Id agree. It seems to come from preconcieved notions of Fox News

Is it?

I don't know, but it involves giving them money.

its not really. i just have a preference for cnn. anderson cooper rules!

So showing pictures of stranded black people on the front page means they are inferring that "poor black people = savage animals"?

In my opinion yes. You have made judgements about FOX and it's POV and are calling out a subtext that simply is not there in any explicit fashion.

Does the word lawlessness above a picture of black americans taken out of context lead one to beleive that FOX is casting aspersions? It could I suppose, but again you'd really have to read into it.

I agree with you on both counts. I also agree that Fox is sensationalistic and panders to a niche audience that they want to own. But so does the New Yorker. So does the Wall Street Journal.

Counterpoint in journalism is imperative, just as it's imperative for the public at large to turn their brains on when imbibing all of this information and realize what is fact and what is opinion.

Stranded black people on a roof, under the headline, "Despair, lawlessness in the big easy" is rather strange. Why not show pictures of people looting?

Either way I tend to agree with Keith on the matter.

I dunno, I've always believed in the notion that corporate news doesn't report everything that happens so much as fills in the details of a certain number of Story Outlines that fit its viewers world-views.

And to me, the way that picture is layed out is obviously intended to make one think that the people depicted are part of the "lawlessness", the 6-point font caption is an afterthought.

what about the anderson cooper count?

and sexy! Swoon

I'd gay it up for that guy.

You'd have a shot. His sexuality seems to be the worst kept secret in the NY media.

Much more likely? The idea that specific pics run under specific headlines in the hopes that someone does call them on it. That would give Hannity and the No Spin Zone hours of stuff to talk about.