An Inside Look at MSNBC's Website: How Is Their Coverage Really Affecting the Election?

Jackie McCrea

jm059212@ohio.edu

A Look Inside

It is no secret that certain news and media outlets lean one way or the other, whether it be predominantly conservative or liberal. MSNBC leans heavily to the left.

 If anyone was unaware of the type of coverage they make available to the public, it is immediately apparent upon entry of their website. One can soon spy a Trump slam piece on every corner of the site, whether it be criticizing his foreign policy or critical analysis of the people who tend to support him. 

Of course, there are other news media outlets that would only display attacks on Clinton, but I can’t help but wonder if this type of news coverage is straying from the central message, being that Clinton is the candidate they have chosen to support. 

This week, I tried to analyze MSNBC’s website because, as we all know, internet has some of the highest traffic, especially regarding news coverage.

 Immediately, my vision was clouded with photos of Trump and headlines that seemed to drag him through the mud. For instance, the article entitled “We didn’t discuss who will pay for the wall.” Clearly, one can tell this will not be the most flattering article and will certainly criticize his foreign policy ideas. 

The article went on to say that during Trump's meeting with the Mexican president, neither discussed the funding of the infamous wall. Of course, there are many criticisms of the building of the wall so this article drew critics of the Republican nominee. 

MSNBC tends to use less than flattering photos of  the Republican nominee. This particular photo was courtesy of Hillary Clinton's Twitter which is commonly featured on the news site.

Clinton on Trump Mexico Trip: Diplomacy More Than a Photo-Op

Oddly enough, for being such a left-winged, pro-Hillary organization, I only found one article where her name actually appeared in the title on the home page. 

This was yet another article putting down her opponent. Here, Hillary discussed her expertise on foreign policy while claiming Trump is only into foreign relations for a "photo-op."

 So here comes my major question. A news organization that is clearly in favor of the Democratic candidate has but one article with Clinton's name in the title? And that still happens to be an attack article on the Republican nominee? 

I do realize that this election is almost at the end of the wire and that it is time to throw out all the stops. However, in my humble opinion, news organizations should be focused on what each candidate is doing to help strengthen their numbers and their platforms at this point.

 In a perfect world, the media would be unbiased, but it's not. So shouldn't media organizations that favor a candidate focus on building them up? Highlighting their goals and plans to encourage voters.

 How much influence does the news media have on painting a negative picture of a candidate? From what I've found, there are mostly only negative articles circulating about both candidates, which I have to say, is quite disappointing.