Three Sources for the News, Three Different Stories

The Big Three cable news networks all reported on the February jobs numbers yesterday.  Though all three read the same report, you wouldn't know it from the three home pages.  Lets take a quick look at all three.

Here is CNN's take:

Taking a look at CNN.com you see that there are two main stories, one of which is the new jobless numbers at the left (although judging by the size of the graphic, you might determine that the jobless numbers are of equal importance as Bank of America's ad to the right).  CNN reports that the economy added jobs, but the unemployment rate didn't drop.  It's a pretty straight forward representation of the facts, with a little commentary added in for entertainments sake ("Stubborn unemployment rate no help to Obama").  

Here is the FoxNews.com home page:

Over at FoxNews, the new jobless numbers are unquestionably their main story (although Bounty sure does a good job of drawing your eye).  FoxNews reports the same facts as CNN, but with a different focus.  Instead of mentioning the added jobs first, their main graphic focuses on the unchanged unemployment rate, under which they mention the added jobs.  They add a third dimension to the story and tease "NOW READ THE REAL JOBLESS STORY."  You have to click into the article to learn how "the Obama administration's not telling the whole story."  That is straight up commentary.

Now lets take a look at MSNBC.com:

It isn't as easy to identify the main story over at MSNBC, as their headlines aren't necessarily accompanied with any graphics.  From what I can tell, according to MSNBC the top story of the day is that the Mormon Church is attempting to limit access to their database of deceased Jews, in to block people from attempting to baptize them post-death.  In the center of the page is the main focus of their homepage, a story about seaweed helping a Japanese village post-tsunami.  In the upper right hand corner is where you'll find the report about the jobs numbers, and the headline reads "3rd straight month of strong job creation."  The sentence below the headline reports that the "Recovery continues to chug along at modest pace."  This is mostly commentary, with none of the pertinent facts to accompany it.

So, out of the Big Three, who reported on the jobs numbers the 'best'?  

MSNBC reports that the economy is improving, but stops short of providing any specifics.  It is only when you contrast their headlines with those on FoxNews and CNN that you realize MSNBC didn't provide any of the facts with their headline, instead relying on 100% commentary.  While CNN and Fox both provide opinion on the jobs numbers, both sites also provided you with a quick summary of the facts (being that jobs were added, but the unemployment rate didn't drop).  MSNBC went straight to their commentary, reporting that the economy ''continues to chug along at a modest pace.''  "3rd straight month of strong job creation" isn't necessarily commentary, but you'd have to already posses the knowledge that 227,000 new jobs is by and large considered strong growth, as that isn't information MSNBC included.

FoxNews informs that jobs were created and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.  But they also imply that there exists hidden data the government hasn't included in their report.  You'll have to read the article to learn what that is (in essence, the unemployment rate doesn't include those who stopped looking for work, nor does it include those who are underemployed).  

CNN's headline is commentary, but their description below is straight up facts.  Well, the first sentence is at least.  What these numbers mean for Obama and Republicans alike is something you'll have to learn after clicking into the article, which based on the headline will presumably contain mostly opinion.  However you do learn the facts of the story just by reading the headline, if you can discern what is fact and what is opinion.

FoxNews and CNN report the results similarly: that while there is some good there is also some bad news.  MSNBC stands alone in painting an entirely rosy picture on the jobs numbers.  

In no way is this the summation of exhaustive research into the Big Three's reporting standards, so coming to a conclusion on who you can trust and who you cannot based only on this one story would be premature.  However, regarding this one story I am comfortable saying that while CNN and FoxNews would do well to remove their commentary, their headlines are vastly superior to MSNBC's.  MSNBC obviously believes our unemployment rate is of less importance than what the Mormons are up to, nor is it as important as the seaweed in Japan.  And when they do carve out space on their home page for the jobs report, they don't offer any facts in the headline or description, they just offer opinion.

To be fair, we aren't analyzing the body of the articles within.  Based on their headlines I wouldn't feel comfortable lambasting the entirety of any one of these networks.  However it should be pretty obvious to even the most casual observer that going to only one news source for information can provide you with drastically different information.  Additionally, it should be suggested that further research into reports like the recently release job information would be advisable.  By no means limit your exposure to just the Big Three.

The motivation behind pointing this out was, to be honest, Facebook posts.  I see a lot of posts about how "this network sucks" or "that network is unreliable."  Two things should at this point be obvious.  1) Each site will report on a given story with their own flair and own angles.  While they aren't necessarily misleading, you do need to be aware of the bias.  None of them on their own failed the reader entirely (though in this case, MSNBC sure didn't bring much to the table).  2) Going to all three of these sites (and others) will provide you with valuable information you wouldn't have learned had you received your information from only one source.