entry #3 When the News Isn’t Really Neutral

 For this blog entry I looked at a news report from CNN about immigration at the southern border of the United States. I also compared it to coverage of the same topic from Fox News. Both reports are supposed to be informational, but they show how news can still be slanted without clearly stating an opinion. The CNN report focuses more on the struggles migrants face and includes emotional stories about families. The Fox News report talks more about border security and crime concerns. Even though both reports include facts, the information they choose to show makes the story feel very different.

When I watched these reports, it made me think about how rhetoric is used in the news. CNN uses more emotional stories, which is an example of pathos, because it makes the audience feel sympathy for the people involved. Fox News focuses more on numbers and security problems, which appeals more to logos, or logical thinking. Both reports also use ethos by interviewing experts or officials who support their perspective. What is interesting is that neither news station directly tells the audience what to believe, but the way they choose their facts and interviews can still influence people’s opinions.

This type of reporting can really affect how audiences think about important issues. If someone only watches one news source, they might believe they are getting the full story when they are actually only seeing one side. Over time, this can make people lose trust in the media because it starts to feel like news organizations are pushing an agenda. Understanding slanted reporting is important because it helps us become smarter news consumers. As citizens, we should try to look at multiple sources and think critically about what information is being shown and what might be left out.

link: CNN- Migrant crossings are spiking. See what it looks like on the southern border | CNN

 Fox-Incoming border czar assures CNN that deportations are coming 'day one' | Fox News