So was there media bias during the Trump rally altercations over the weekend?
Sure, but not the type you are thinking.
I noticed a number of posts on social media blaming MSNBC and the left for fueling the hate by continually showing the live skirmishes among Trump supporters and detractors.
My colleague Michael Horowicz, I think, correctly pointed out that Fox News was showing the same melees.
Both these networks – and I am sure CNN too – went into breaking news mode. This is where TV news usually does its best. They show the news as it is happening. The best example is weather that people need to be warned about. TV news is great about warning you about danger; but they stink when it comes to exploring deeper economic issues that require gray and not black and white.
So in this case, I don’t have any problem with any of the networks showing this black eye of American politics.
As the live coverage went on, you could say the networks were guilty of entertainment bias. Show as much of the violence as you can to keep the audience there and the ratings up.
But was there a liberal or conservative bias. Hard to say. If you think about it, both networks were happy to show something that would detract from Trump’s popularity. So the conflict was not between the networks; they were really on the same side.
Trying to blow this up into a left-right fight? Not much there.
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