Last Week In The News
Last Week In The News
Sep 22-29; United on Hurricane Ian, Inflation; Divided on Putin, the Border, Putin's Mindset, VP Harris's visit to North Korea, politically motivated homicide of a Republican teen, and more;
Our country is divided and the media is polarized. In Top Down News, we unify, compare, and distill many mainstream perspectives that capture most of America’s political readership to approximate the truth.
There is a corresponding post on Reddit each week which garners thousands of views and hundreds of comments. Join the discussion!
What if we walk across the divide and look at the news on both sides?
From a 2020 Pew Report, 60% of Republicans turn to Fox News for political news and 53% of Democrats turn to CNN. By comparing what CNN and Fox is focused on, we can get a current top-down view of the partisan divide in the US over the past week. We look at the top 6 topics from each source and combine it into a single view. A healthy media could look like the following: 4-5 of the topics are shared in terms of front-page attention and 1-2 are exclusive to the outlet, allowing for outlet differentiation. A polarized media looks like the one we have today (below), where it looks like the two outlets are reporting on two different universes. There is no joint opinion of what’s newsworthy.
This week in particular shows a divide in the set of topics and stories each outlet is covering. Most of the topics show extremely skewed coverage, where only one outlet is predominantly front page. Are there topics that both outlets are missing in favor of catering to their partisan base? We can make progress by adding a news outlet from the center.
CNN vs Fox vs Reuters
New topics emerged that weren’t ranked as highly by both CNN and Fox: Yen Japan Intervenes and Inflation Fed Rates.
By adding in Reuters, we introduce a control that allows visualization of mainstream partisan outlets emphasizing certain stories to engage their base. In a way, using more partisan stories to engage readers to get them to read universally newsworthy stories isn’t a bad thing. Top Down News, however, is designed to highlight these tactics and information bubbles so the reader can assess information for themselves.
We can continue to add mainstream outlets across the spectrum to determine the most newsworthy topics across the spectrum.
Unifying the news
These are the most newsworthy topics, ranked by front-page attention across the following mainstream media outlets: CNN, Fox News, NBC News, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal
We can break down these same topics by media bias, where media bias is categorized by the AllSides Media Bias Chart.
This can give readers a map of how to navigate news and take certain topics with a grain of salt.
Divided Deep Dive
Readers on any side (left, center, or right) will inevitably miss certain stories or unique perspectives on certain topics. Top Down News aims to collect these mainstream perspectives in one place conveniently to help readers gain a deeper understanding of the truth. We will always link to the original content produced by each outlet.
Mar Lago Documents
TLDR: Criminal Probe of Mar-a-Lago documents after U.S. appeals courts makes a ruling. CNN is covering this more than Reuters and Fox, while Fox is covering stories about the special master and missing coverage on the U.S. court ruling.
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Special master calls for help in Mar-a-Lago documents battle that will cost $500 an hour
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
U.S. court says Trump criminal probe can resume classified records review
Trump's path to stall documents probe narrows after legal setbacks
Russians Flee Draft
TDLR: Putin issued a draft that caused thousands of Russians to flee across the Finland-Russia border. Coverage is united across the sources. However, Fox is placing more attention on US Government's role in this issue
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Neighboring country closes border after Russia announces draft
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
Kremlin says no decision yet on whether to seal Russia's borders to stop men fleeing
'I am leaving Russia': young men flee draft, Finland to restrict entry
Royal Family
TDLR: Fox is putting front-page attention on stories about Meghan Markle while CNN and Reuters are focused on the Queen and King
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Meghan Markle allegedly threatened to dump Harry if he didn't issue statement
Ex-staffers make bombshell claims about Meghan Markle in new book
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
New coins, banknotes, stamps and cypher for Britain's King Charles
Buckingham Palace issues photo of Queen Elizabeth's final resting place
Border Crisis
TDLR: Fox is placing front-page attention on stories about media coverage and politics related to the border. CNN and Reuters are not placing front-page attention on the border.
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Progressive activists 'inconsistent' when covering the border: Abraham Enriquez
Biden's border crisis has been 'a political football': Cory Mills
Putin Mindset
TDLR: Both Fox and CNN are covering stories about Putin's mindset and his next move, with much more front-page attention from CNN. CNN is portraying Putin in a weaker light than Fox.
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Reports of Putin's problems are mounting
'He's in trouble and I think he knows it': Clapper weighs in on Putin's current mindset
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
'I don't think Putin is ready to capitulate yet:' Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin
HELL AND HIGH WATER: Officials say Russian commanders are 'increasingly concerned,' hit new targets
North Korea Kamala Harris
TLDR: Kamala Harris visits the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea. Fox is placing a lot more attention on this topic through the lens of putting Harris in a negative light.
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Kamala Harris visits DMZ amid tension over North Korean missile launch
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
VP Harris makes unfortunate gaffe during DMZ speech
Defectors give rare glimpse into life inside Kim Jong Un’s regime
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of U.S. VP Harris visit
Imagery shows N.Korea may soon launch new missile submarine - think tank
Republican Teen Mowed
TLDR: A man is being charged with vehicular homicide for 'mowing' down his neighbor. Fox is placing this high up on its front page and uses the phrases 'mowed down teen' and 'killed 'Republican' teen' while CNN is placing less coverage and uses the term 'striking 18-year-old' after political argument
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Man admits fatally striking 18-year-old with vehicle after 'political argument,' police say
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Neighbor who sat with man before he allegedly killed 'Republican' teen speaks
Official contradicts 'extremist' claim by man who allegedly mowed down teen
Canada Hurricane Fiona
TDLR: Hurricane Fiona is one of the strongest storms to hit Canada. More than 20 homes were destroyed and more than 200 need shelter. Fox is not placing front-page attention on it, while CNN is placing it higher up the front page than Reuters.
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Canadian island expected to bear the brunt of Fiona's impact
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
Canadians clean up after Fiona sweeps homes out to sea; one dead
Canada girds for long haul after historic storm Fiona ravages east coast
Iran
TDLR: Iran protests broke out over the Western stance and media coverage over mass protests over a woman's death. CNN is not ranking stories about the Iran protests as highly as the other two outlets
Front Page Headlines for CNN
US F-15 jet downs Iranian drone that appeared to threaten US forces in Iraq
'Humiliating': Author on being detained by morality police in Iran
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Mass street protests break out outside White House against the regime in Iran
Front Page Headlines for Reuters
Iran protests Western stance on mass protests over woman's death
In Top Down News, we unify and compare a multitude of mainstream perspectives that capture the majority of America’s political readership to approximate the truth. This entire newsletter is composed using a transparent and ever-improving methodology. Read how this works here. Dive deeper into the analysis for this post here, powered by AI-based Natural Language Understanding and D3-based Dynamic visualizations.