Election Coverage: Covid-19, Bias, Uncertainty

by: Emily, tyson, and mati

Emily: Across most of the news outlets we tracked, the overarching theme seems to be skepticism. Many of the stories that I read dealt with uncertainty regarding this election’s voting process and the Trump administration’s plan following the projected narrow results. I was surprised to find that many sources approached these topics rather objectively compared to how they’re usually framed, but this was probably due to the fact that developing news was coming in at the same time these journalists were informing readers, so there probably was not enough time to publish detailed and somewhat biased evaluations of the election.

Tyson: Absolutely. It was definitely clear that the results of the election would be unpredictable, especially due to the large numbers of mail-in ballots and early in-person votes still uncounted. Voter turnout was overwhelmingly high compared to recent years, which surprised a lot of people like myself. I figured that the coronavirus would dampen some spirits and make some think twice about going out to vote, but I guess not! Speaking of COVID-19, the consensus among the media outlets that I observed was the huge role the pandemic played in the majority of voters’ decisions. An upwards of four in ten voters believed that the pandemic was the number one issue facing the country at this very moment.

Mati: I saw a lot of talk about the pandemic myself. It’s quite clear that this election was unlike any other due to how much was at stake for so many Americans. Most of the media that I observed had something to say about the pandemic and the economic recession that accompanied it; both would have an undeniable effect on the results of the election. Though the national unemployment rate is steadily decreasing, there’s still so much uncertainty and unease around the pandemic and how our leadership is responding to it. Media outlets seem to be playing on this unease and making it their focal point this election season. Also, I couldn’t help but notice some degree of bias in the media coverage that I tracked these past few days. Whether it is for the economic fallout or the mismanagement of the federal public-health response, many fingers in the media are pointing at Trump at this critical moment. It appears that partisan opinions and criticisms are being not-so-subtly interwoven into reporting on the election. Though it was interesting to see the focus on the pandemic and Trump’s response to it, it’s clear that bias was a persistent issue in the media this election season.

Emily: Agreed. There definitely exists some extent of bias within each article, whether meant to be solely informative or not, and this is a byproduct of the polarization during the last four years. It’s important to remember that the media is, ultimately, a business — for the sake of revenue, the headlines on the front covers will be those that rattle the public, and news outlets know that articles leaning left or right will gain traction. So, it wasn’t surprising to come across articles that bashed each party’s political agendas, but I don’t blame the media entirely for swaying public opinion either. Actually, it is readership that dictates what the media focus on more so than the other way around. Coupled with economic desire, the media right now is a symptom of what our country has become.

Tyson: The media has dramatically evolved to the political climates of the elections in recent years. This year is no different. This year, however, the media has sort of taken a step back after 2016’s unprecedented results. I agree with you, Mati. Media outlets appear to be so uncertain — they’re writing articles about how uncertain they are! On the other hand, journalists are VERY aware of the party dynamics present in this election and what’s at stake. The Republican Party is split between traditional Republicans and Trump’s following, which could present a chink in a possible Trump victory. Democrats, on the other hand, have a focused common goal: remove Trump and restore democracy.