Throughout the pandemic the media has played a large role in fueling the division between the two main political parties found in America. This division has never been as clear as it is now with the handeling of the Coronavirus. The two most popular political news stations are CNN and Fox News. CNN is considered to be a more Democratic minded news station, while Fox is heavily Republican.

One of the most debated topics that have been in the forefront throughout this Pandemic has been the shutdowns. Should they have happened? Did we take too long to close everything down? Were these lockdowns even necessary? If you asked either newscast, they would have two very different answers.

CNN

CNN has been extremely supportive of the national shutdown since it happened. In May, many states began the reopening of their economy. Many journalists at CNN have been very critical of the reopening. In an article written by Scottie Andrew on May 19th, he called the American response to the Coronavirus as the “most American thing ever.” Throughout the course of this class, we have mentioned the idea of American Individualism, which is exactly what he feels is the downfall to the American society. He writes, “It’s a symptom of American Individualism, a national value that prizes personal freedoms, limited government and free wills over anything.” This is precisely the argument that the opposite is trying to argue- it is their liberties to be able to do what they want. In this article, the author also mentions how this pandemic specifically, people have opted out of following the governments orders. In week 4 of our class, we mentioned the idea that some people refuse to follow some of the governments orders because it resembles vulnerability. A good conclusion to draw from this is that people really do repel the governments control.

Fox News

On the opposite side of the political response to the pandemic, there is Fox News. They were against an excessive lockdown measure from the start. A day after the post from CNN was published condeming the early reopening of states, Fox published an article bringing to light all of the dangers this lockdown brings. In this article they bring up that “600 doctors wrote to President Trump pushing him to end the National Lockdown.” By saying it is doctors writing this, it brings a sense of scientific value to people. In this article, they bring up all the other problems that come with this lockdown which includes: alcoholism, excessive drug use, unneeded health fatalities due to lack of seeing the doctors, and abuse. By bringing up these issues, it brings a feeling of humanity into it, and it makes one feel for these people. In this article, the journalist also brings up a doctors comment about the minimal symptoms so many people have when they are effected. Through this, it is trying to sway its readers into believing the lockdowns are an overstep by the government.

In conclusion, one must be mindful when researching a topic. When reading the articles, both journalists present very valid points. By comparing both of these news articles that were written just a day apart from each other, it shows that both of these stations have very different ideas of how this should have been handled. In the class, we focused a lot on how to find correct news, not emotionally charged news. By reading these articles, it shows that readers must read multiple news sources and form their own opinion on a subject rather then relying on one specific company.

Andrew, Scottie, 2020, May 19th, “America’s response to the coronavirus is the most American thing ever”, https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/19/us/american-individualism-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

Olsen, Tyler, 2020, May 20th, “Doctors raise alarm about health effects of continued coronavirus shutdown: ‘Mass casualty incident'”, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doctors-raise-alarm-about-health-effects-of-continued-coronavirus-shutdown