There has been debate here and elsewhere regarding why Biden has such poor polling numbers despite things improving significantly under his watch. Many criticize Democrats for their messaging, claiming that we are inferior to the GOP in this regard. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank put this to the test. Is it Democratic messaging, or is it media coverage of their message?
The media treats Biden as badly as — or worse than — Trump. Here’s proof
Even the extraordinary news that jobless claims had dropped to the lowest level in 52 years came with a qualifier: “BUT, BUT, BUT … don’t expect [the numbers] to immediately change Americans’ negative perceptions of the economy.”
It isn’t just Politico. My impression of other outlets’ coverage of President Biden had been much the same: unrelentingly negative. Was it my imagination?
Seriously, this news should have been trumpeted far and wide as part of America regaining its confidence. Instead we are treated to Republican talking points repackaged as news. But taking this out of the opinion world and into the world of factual analysis yields interesting results.
Artificial intelligence can now measure the negativity with precision. At my request, Forge.ai, a data analytics unit of the information company FiscalNote, combed through more than 200,000 articles — tens of millions of words — from 65 news websites (newspapers, network and cable news, political publications, news wires and more) to do a “sentiment analysis” of coverage. Using algorithms that give weight to certain adjectives based on their placement in the story, it rated the coverage Biden received in the first 11 months of 2021 and the coverage President Donald Trump got in the first 11 months of 2020.
…
After a honeymoon of slightly positive coverage in the first three months of the year, Biden’s press for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020.
Think about that. In 2020, Trump presided over a worst-in-world pandemic response that caused hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths; held a superspreader event at the White House and got covid-19 himself; praised QAnon adherents; embraced violent white supremacists; waged a racist campaign against Black Lives Matter demonstrators; attempted to discredit mail-in voting; and refused to accept his defeat in a free and fair election, leading eventually to the violence of Jan. 6 and causing tens of millions to accept the “big lie,” the worst of more than 30,000 he told in office.
And yet Trump got press coverage as favorable as, or better than, Biden is getting today. Sure, Biden has had his troubles, with the delta variant, Afghanistan and inflation. But the economy is rebounding impressively, he has signed major legislation, and he has restored some measure of decency, calm and respect for democratic institutions.
I’m not sure what the answer is. Perhaps Biden needs to start appealing directly to the public more, and not allowing the media to shape perceptions as much as they currently do. The message doesn’t need to be changed so much as the means of delivery.
Saturday, Dec 4, 2021 · 11:09:06 PM +00:00
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kbman
Updated to add a point I raise in the comments. The following was stated by President Biden on Wednesday December 1st. How many people even on this progressive website have heard or seen them?
What does a “no” vote mean on this bill? Not on cable news, not on Fox, not — in the real world, in your life, around your kitchen table.
Well, here’s what it’s going to mean: It means for millions of American families, this bill — the bills you’re paying right now for day care could be substantially lowered, capped at 7 percent of your income. But the Republicans said, “No, pay more.”
It means the bills you’re paying right now to take care of your elderly parent could have been lower — a lot lower. But Republicans said, “No, don’t vote for this bill. Pay more.”
It means the cost of your prescription drugs could have been lower — a lot lower. But Republicans think that those 200,000 children, for example, who need regular doses of insulin should continue to pay as much as $1,000 a month, instead of $35 a month. . . .
We’re in a situation that as far as Republicans are concerned, they’d rather the bills at your kitchen table be higher so the tax bills of corporate conference rooms and big mansions can be lower. In this case, let me tell you something: Nothing will be more expensive for American families than a “no” vote on the Build Back Better plan."