Q&A of the Day – News media’s coverage of the Coronavirus
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
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Today’s entry: Do you think we'll ever hear anyone from the Press ask, "What can we do to help, Mr. President?" Every once in a while I hear one of them ask a good question, but in general I am disgusted by most of the questions they ask. It seems like they are just looking for discrepancies and conflicts.
Bottom Line: From a point of objectivity – it's not the White House press corps’ job to “help” the country. It is their responsibility to ask questions valuable to the honest dissemination of important information during a National Emergency. But yes, it would be refreshing if it appeared that they cared more about their country and the consumers of information – than trying to create rifts between the president and leaders in various states or foreign countries. It would be nice if they laid out timelines of actions President Trump took regarding travel bans in January, well before this was a full-fledged worldwide threat as part of an objective reporting process. But most of all, it’d be nice if they simply showed the President of the United States the respect the office deserves when asking their questions.
This crisis has led to many new listeners seeking information and listening. I’ve heard from many listeners, but especially newer ones, that they’re shocked by the disrespectful way the press addresses and interacts with President Trump. Of course, this isn’t new, but the public awareness now is. The irony is that this crisis is exposing the news media to those who were previously unaware of how jaded and non-objective most news reporting has been. Especially independents and younger adults. More on that one in a moment. I’ve refrained from using the phrase, GSS media during this crisis as I feel it’s inappropriate to project unnecessary negativity given all that we’re already dealing with. This should be a time we all come together – while social distancing of course...but the narrative behind my phrase for much of news media still applies. The most pervasive form of bias in news media remains omission, and many in the White House Press Corps are still extremely hostile and disrespectful to the President.
The most obvious and unfortunate omission by most news media over the past week has been the China propaganda campaign against the US military and President Trump’s characterization of the virus to dispel it around the world. The state-run Communist Party news media machine in China started a propaganda war in Asia suggesting COVID-19 was the result of the US military. Not only is this outrageous, it’s an affront to those who serve this country and President Trump as usual, has been standing up for those who serve. His characterization of the virus as a “Chinese virus” is a direct response to China’s effort to lie, mislead, and project hatred and blame on our military. Rather than reporting on this effort – news media has chosen to omit why President Trump has characterized it as a Chinese virus and instead fed the flames of it somehow being a racist reference. This in turn provides cover to a partisan boob like Illinois’s Governor to essentially call the President racist, which keeps the conveyor belt of absurd narratives and reporting moving. This is how our news media works, even in times of National Emergencies, with their allies on the left against the interests of the American people, and specifically American service men and women. It’s truly deplorable but then again, if you know who these people are, why would any of us expect anything different?
I mentioned people have figured this out...In a Hill/Harris X survey last week on news media reporting, here’s the disapproval level of news reporting by demo.
- Democrats: 38%
- Republicans: 50%
- Independents: 57%
- Adults: 18-34: 58%
Tells a story doesn’t it? Those least partisan are the least approving of the coverage. I think this comes from expectations. Those least used to the regular news coverage are having new impressions made as they’re seeking credible information and reporting. This will likely have a longer-term impact. Back to your question. Not only shouldn’t we expect most news media to want to help this country, we can’t even count on them not being part of the Chinese propaganda machine to slander our military. The more you know...