Blog 7: Did FoxNews and CNN Recount the VP Debate the Same Way?: FoxNews vs. CNN

On October 1, 2024, the world witnessed a vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz. Everyone is raving about how this debate was a ‘breath of fresh air’ for Americans, and how it was a peaceful discussion between two political figureheads. I watched it last night and paid close attention to what actually happened, who said what, and how each candidate debated the topics appointed to them. In this blog post, I plan to look at how CNN and FoxNews recount the debate, versus what I witnessed when watching the event unfold. Also, it is important to provide a study on how these two news platforms continue to make opinionated statements. 

The FoxNews article, Vance, Walz spar over abortion and immigration in first and only VP debate | Fox News,
starts off with walking through the questions that the two men were asked and how each one answered. The first question in the debate was whether Vance and Walz would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran. Fox then throws a hit at Walz by saying, “A visibly shaky Walz had a rough start to the debate, pausing and stumbling over his words as he spoke about the need for "steady leadership" from the White House. Instead of answering the question, Walz took a shot at Trump” (Singman and Steinhauser, 2024). Then, Fox goes on to show how Vance’s comebacks are strong and it is obvious to the reader that the article focuses more on what Vance says, than what Walz says. Another way that it is evident where Fox stands politically, is their mentioning of when the moderators incorrectly did their job and would be harsh towards Vance, yet not to Walz. For example, “the moderators spoke over him, sarcastically thanking him for "describing the legal process" before they cut off his microphone as Tim Walz attempted to argue with him” (Singman and Steinhauser, 2024). I do remember this being evident last night, but I also think FoxNews is over exaggerating some of these statements in attempts to sway voters or appeal to their audience. 

In the CNN article, Takeaways from the vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz | CNN Politics, there is an intriguing beginning to how the matters of the debate are presented. There is bashing towards Trump, but almost a sense of likeness towards JD Vance. For instance, “Unlike Trump, he pronounced Harris’ first name correctly. He referred to his opponent by his title. He didn’t often whine about the moderators – though Trump did so during the debate on his Truth Social platform. The Ohio senator also largely passed on opportunities to litigate the details of Walz’s own biography” (Bradner et al, 2024). As I mentioned about the FoxNews article, the CNN coverage of the debate is focused more heavily on Walz than it is Vance. Other than the more in-detail quotes from Walz being listed in this article, there is really not that much biased opinions throughout it. Why do you think this article differs from the FoxNews article in this way?

An important similarity I have noticed among both news platforms is their willingness to say how cordial this debate was and how different that is for the American people. In a way, I believe this debate was somewhat healing for our nation to witness. I think it proved to many that it is possible to have a peaceful debate between two candidates, and it does not always have to be as hostile as the presidential debate was weeks ago. I wonder what the future of our country looks like and will the partisan gap worsen? Or was this debate a glimpse into some sort of hope for unification?