CNN v. FOX News: Harris's DNC Speech Preperation
These news media sources discuss Kamala Harris’ preparation leading up to her DNC speech. Both of these news stories were published before Harris’ speech took place. The source from CNN is an article written by Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny, and MJ Lee. The source from FOX News is a video clip featuring Jesse Watters from “Jesse Watters Primetime”.
CNN:
- This article stresses the importance of Harris’ DNC speech by calling it “the highest-profile moment of her political life”.
- Harris had been preparing and readying herself for her speech from her hotel suite in Chicago.
- Harris has been thinking about this speech for weeks as she is aware of the high stakes.
- Harris is expected to touch on topics that inform the American people more about her background.
- According to those involved in her speech preparation, Harris has been working from the stump speech she uses at her campaign rallies and has extensively refined the text.
- In her hotel room, she has spent an ample amount of time practicing and consulting with aides and family members to refine the speech.
- She has spent most of her daytime hours, since arriving in Chicago, preparing her address with her team behind closed doors.
- In addition to working long hours on her speech preparation she…
- Attended the first night of the convention on Monday
- Flew to Milwaukee for a campaign rally on Tuesday evening
- Took part in a phone call on Wednesday with Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as negotiators in the Middle East worked to keep talks going on a hostage and ceasefire deal.
- Harris has been working on her speech since Biden dropped out of the presidential race.
- Adam Frankel, a former speechwriting team member for Obama, has taken a leading role in writing Harris’ speech.
- Harris views her speech as being America’s introduction to her voice.
- A close advisor to Harris, Former Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, stated that “Her main goal is to let the American people know she will wake up every day fighting for them.”
FOX News “Jesse Watters Primetime”:
- Harris is “freaking out” ahead of delivering the biggest speech of her life.
- Harris spent the night before the speech locked in her hotel room studying.
- Harris’ aids warned the DNC not to run behind schedule or cut her tribute video.
- Harris’s speech is expected to be emotional with very little substance.
- This expectation is based on the Harris campaign stating, "This is a rallying cry, not a policy speech."
- Watters claims this statement is plagiarized from the Obamas.
- Harris’ speech will resemble Obama’s acceptance speech
- Harris will recycle the same “buzz words” used by Obama such as: morality, peace, and hope.
- Harris does not have the backstory needed to capture Obama’s essence.
- Harris didn’t earn it like Obama
- She is Biden’s “yes woman”
- Harris has to deliver a speech she didn’t write with genuine emotion.
- Harris hasn’t previously delivered during big moments.
- Speeches won’t win the election- it will come down to the debates and Trump creates more memorable events than Harris.
Discussion:
These two sources were interesting to compare especially since they were different mediums of news media. The CNN article, while displaying some liberal bias, was a lot more neutral than the video clip from FOX News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime”, which displayed a heavy conservative bias. “Jesse Watters Primetime” is a talk show and therefore is a lot more opinionated than the CNN News article.
The two sources offered very different perspectives on the time Harris spent preparing for the speech in her hotel room. The CNN source positively described Harris’ speech preparations. The article made it sound like Harris is a hard worker and devoted to doing her absolute best when it comes to important political moments. The FOX News source cast Harris’ preparations in a negative light. It made the situation sound like Harris was incompetent and over-preparing. The two news sources also gave their viewers very different descriptions of what to expect from Harris’ speech.
Do you think that viewing one of these news sources before watching Harris' speech would affect one's perception of her speech?
Sources:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jesse-watters-biggest-speech-kamalas-life-she-freaking-out
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/22/politics/kamala-harris-dnc-speech/index.html
Great post! It highlights the significant differences in how CNN and FOX News covered Kamala Harris' preparations for her DNC speech. The differing perspectives are a great example of how media bias can shape public perception. To answer your question: Yes, I believe that viewing one of these sources before watching Harris' speech would likely affect one's perception of her. For example, someone who read the CNN article might enter with a positive and supportive mindset, seeing Harris as a diligent and prepared candidate. On the other hand, a viewer who watched Jesse Watters’ segment on FOX News could approach her speech with skepticism, viewing it as lacking substance or originality.
ReplyDeleteHi Skylar, Your post did an incredible job highlighting how differently two of America's major news media outlets report the same event. As we read from this week's module content, people prefer to watch or read news that confirms their preconceived opinions of politics. The advancement of technology has made it possible for audiences to find news outlets that cater to their viewpoints, leading to the rise of popularity and power of partisan news outlets. While partisan news channels are entertaining, viewers must consult multiple sources or outlets that are less overtly biased to avoid becoming misinformed by biased content that fails to show various perspectives that challenge their established viewpoints.
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