CNN vs. Democracy Now

My assignment this week was to monitor and analyze the coverage of an alternative media source and a mainstream media source. The alternative source I selected was “Democracy Now.org” and the mainstream source was “CNN.com.” The stories I looked at were in the “latest news” section of “CNN.com” and the “headlines” section of “Democracy Now.” “Democracy Now” seemed to revolve, almost in entirety, around the upcoming presidential election. “CNN.com” had a more broad range of stories. For the purpose of this analysis I will focus on the political stories so I may compare the two in that way. Overall, while “Democracy Now” blatantly favors Barack Obama, I felt their stories were more relevant and atnalytical to the election.

The stories on “CNN.com” surrounding the election, in the latest news section, included the following: “Cindy McCain lashes out at Media,” “Protesters try to block Palin’s Car,” and “Voter Turned Away for Obama Shirt.” These stories don’t even attempt to cover the issues. Considering that this is the mainstream source that the masses rely on for the majority of their news coverage, this was a little disconcerting.

While “Democracy Now” too had its fair share of stories that I found to be a complete waste of coverage, it most certainly had a deeper sense of analysis and skepticism in its coverage compared to the stories I read from “CNN.com.” This source overall fulfilled the most important media role of “media as custodian.” Stories from the headlines section include: “John Nichols on the GOP’s New McCarthyism and the 2008 Congressional Races” and “Barack Obama Accepts Endorsement of Colin Powell Despite the Ex0Genereal’s Role in Making the Case for Iraq War.” It was in these two stories I found that “Democracy Now” really displayed the “custodian of fact” role. They were both enlightening and deep. The writer really went to the core of the issues and although the site overall very obviously favors Obama, they questioned his statements on the issues.

Stories on “Democracy Now” that I found equal or lesser in value to “CNN.com” include: “McCain Supporters Harass Obama Voters in North Carolina,” “Ohio Governor: GOP is Trying to Scare Newly Registered Voters” and “Colorado Protesters Attempt to Blockade Sarah Palin’s Motorcade.” Stories such as these were the bulk of the headlines which, for an alternative media source, I think is acceptable. It is my opinion that alternative media sources are not bound to the same commitment to society as the mainstream sources are. I expect mainstream media to supply unbiased news to the masses. While this is not generally the case, it is the fundamental value of mainstream media.

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