Last Week In The News
Oct 6-13; United on Hurricane Ian, Russia-Ukraine War, Iran, Nuclear 'Armageddon'; Partisan Coverage on Trump, Biden, McConnell, Crime, Ukraine Civilians, Bonds
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.
Sources Tracked: BBC, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal
How is Mainstream Media Divided?
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
Fox and CNN are reporting as if they’re in two different universes. Beyond Hurricane Ian and some speculation on Putin, there is more division in topic coverage than in the past few weeks. We’ll go into some of these divided topics in the deep dive section.
This divide in saliency is not just between Fox and CNN but across other popular news outlets, such as NYTimes and Reuters.
This is why it’s incredibly important to be mindful of your information diet and read through multiple sources to get informed.
What stories can you absolutely trust?
Top Down News algorithmically combs through all of the mainstream media from the past week and selects stories that are uniformly covered by sources across the spectrum. All stories are linked in the appendix.
Topics Explained
In Top Down News, we look deeply into high front-page attention topics from each of these buckets:
Skewed coverage from one side (can be left vs. right or domestic vs. international; e.g. Border Crisis or Pakistan Floods respectively)
United Coverage Differing media bias from multiple sides (e.g. Mar-a-Lago FBI Trump)
United Media Coverage and United Bias (e.g. Putin)
You can dive into any topic of your interest in the weekly Observable dashboard.
Putin Analysis
TLDR The left-wing media is saying that Putin's army is failing and that he is facing criticism from all sides. The right-wing media is saying that Putin is a dictator who will stop at nothing to protect his legacy. The center media is saying that Putin's dream of victory in Ukraine is slipping away.
Top Recent Headlines from Left
(cnn) Morale is plummeting in Putin's private army
(washingtonpost) Putin’s bridge of dreams explodes in flames
Top Recent Headlines from Right
(foxnews) Putin will 'stop at nothing' to protect his legacy: Brett Velicovich
(washingtonexaminer) Here are several reasons why Putin's war effort remains in very deep trouble
Top Recent Headlines from Center
(reuters) Putin marks low-key birthday as Ukraine pressures mount
Iran
TLDR The left-wing media is outraged after Amnesty International reported that a 16-year-old protester was beaten to death. The girls protesting in Iran are seen as a new challenge for the hard-line government. The right-wing media believes that the US must provide a 'catalyst' for Iran's protestors. The center sources are reporting on the risks that Iranian women are taking to protest. Center sources, two of which are based in the UK, are covering this issue with much higher salience than the left or right domestic outlets.
Top Recent Headlines from Left
(cnn) Renewed outrage after Amnesty Intl. says 16-year-old protester beaten to death
(nbcnews) Girls protesting in Iran present a new challenge for the hard-line government
(nytimes) Protests in Iran Spread, Including to Oil Sector, Despite Violent Crackdown
(washingtonpost) Listen: The escalating crackdowns on protests in Iran
Top Recent Headlines from Right
(foxnews) US must provide 'catalyst' for Iran's protestors: Lisa Daftari
(washingtontimes) Dutch rally to support Iranian protests over woman’s death
Top Recent Headlines from Center
(wsj) Iran’s Women Brave Extraordinary Risks to Protest
(reuters) Iranian journalist who broke news on Mahsa Amini pays heavy price
Desantis Biden Hurricane Ian
TLDR The left-wing media is saying that Biden and DeSantis are putting their political rivalry aside for now as President Biden tours hurricane damage. The right-wing media is saying that Ron DeSantis is getting people back on their feet and omitting mention of Biden in the headlines. The center sources are saying that Biden and DeSantis are pausing their disputes to highlight the hurricane response.
Top Recent Headlines from Left
(nbcnews) Biden meets with DeSantis while surveying Hurricane Ian damage in Florida
(nytimes) During Florida Visit, Biden and DeSantis Put Politics (Largely) Aside
Top Recent Headlines from Right
(foxnews) Ron DeSantis on aftermath of Hurricane Ian: We're getting people back on their feet
(washingtonexaminer) President DeSantis? Twitter buzzes as governor speaks behind presidential seal
Top Recent Headlines from Center
(wsj) Biden, DeSantis Pause Disputes to Highlight Hurricane Response
(reuters) Biden, Florida's DeSantis work 'hand-in-glove' on Hurricane Ian recovery
Crime Criminals Guns Jail
TLDR The left-wing media is talking about how guns and crime are weighing on Americans' minds. The right-wing media is talking about how criminals need to be afraid of the police, and that violent crime is still on the rise in the US. The center media is talking about how more businesses are wanting to hire people with criminal records and US murders rose but at a slower pace.
Front Page Headlines for CNN
Front Page Headlines for Fox News
Criminals need to be afraid of police, this isn't happening: Howard Safir
FBI reports suggest violent crime is still on the rise across US
Front Page Headlines for Wall Street Journal
More Businesses Want to Hire People With Criminal Records Amid Tight Job Market
Biden Energy Policies
TLDR The Right is portraying Biden's energy policies as damaging, placing much more front-page emphasis than the left or center.
Top Recent Headlines from Left
(washingtonpost) With so much untapped U.S. oil, why does Biden beg dictators to add production?
Top Recent Headlines from Right
(foxnews) Hannah Cox: Biden admin continues to hinder domestic oil and gas production
(washingtonexaminer) Fast lane: 2024 hopeful outmaneuvers Biden on gas prices
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.
Appendix
United Stories