Biden's Age in Question
According to allsides.com, Fox News leans to the political right while CNN leans to the left.
The Headlines
Fox News: Foreign outlets pull no punches over Biden ‘confusion’ and ‘rage’ after surprise press conference. With tag: Australian outlet dubs Biden 'confusion-in-chief.
CNN: Biden tries to lay to rest age concerns, but may have exacerbated them.
The Story
At a recent press conference, President Biden addressed concern over his age and mental ability to perform as president for an additional four years. Regardless of what party you support, Biden's age has been a controversial subject, and rightfully so?
In the aftermath of the confernce, both Fox News and CNN recorded the president's visible anger. However, Fox News centered the article around the investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents while CNN reported that " Special counsel Robert Hur’s report released Thursday on Biden’s handling of classified documents effectively ended the matter. But his assertions that Biden was elderly and forgetful ignited a political firestorm that cut directly to the heart of the president’s chief vulnerability in the 2024 election." ( Collison, 2024). I emphasize "ended the matter" because Fox News reports the opposite, insinuating that the President is getting away with a crime. To that point Fox provides a statement by Rep. Hunt (R-Texas) "Let me get this straight. Biden is too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime, but he’s not too cognitively impaired to be the Commander-in-Chief?"
On the issue of age and mental capacity, the political divide could not be seen clearer through Fox and CNN reporting of the issue. In sum, Fox News made a point to specify Biden's word blunders during the press conference and even included criticism from the international press. CNN made a point to specify the sensitivity of the age issue. In a lengthy section of the article subtitled " A painful issue", CNN describes age as a challenging issue that many families deal with and criticizes cruel reportings of the issue. Additionally, Trump and Biden are compared as the similarity in age is emphasized.
The Takeaways
Fox News
- Biden's performance at the press confernce proves his age is an issue as he had several blunders
- Biden's age should not get in the way of legal consequences for the mishandling of classified documentation
- International media is mocking Biden's age and cognitive ability.
CNN
- Biden's age was addressed at a press confernce where he confused the name of a President.
- The investigation of the mishandling of classified documents is over.
- The media has been cruel in regards to Biden's age-- age is a sensitive issue.
- Democrats dismiss concerns regarding Biden's age.
Connection to Class
How does this connect to our class? Let's explore the concept of "fragmentation".
In News, the Politics of Illusion by Lance Benett, Benett addresses fragmentation as a form of information bias. He further defines it as the "isolation of stories from each other and from their larger contexts, so that information in the news becomes fragmented and hard to assemble into a big picture." (Citation) With this in mind, it's hard to identify what both the CNN and Fox articles are about as they address many different topics under the umbrella of "Biden's age". Additionally, Bennett emphasizes that fragmentation tends to favor the personal and sensational over context and clarity. Again, this is shown through both articles as they choose to highlight Biden's age over more in-depth matters.
The question must then be posed, could this information bias prevent the media from effectively serving the American people. If I can offer my opinion on the matter, I believe it does. The presence of fragmentation interrupts the interpretation of the event at hand, ultimately distorting the truth.
References:
Colton, E. (2024, February 9). Foreign outlets pull no punches over Biden ‘confusion’ and ‘rage’ after surprise press conference. Fox News Channel
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/foreign-outlets-pull-no-punches-biden-confusion-rage-surprise-press-conference
Collinson, S. (2024, February 9). Biden tries to lay to rest age concerns, but may have exacerbated them. CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/politics/biden-age-concerns-analysis/index.html
Lance Bennett, W. (2016). News: The politics of Illusion, tenth edition. University of Chicago Press.
Image: https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-biden/
