ICYMI, the right wing frenzy machine has been going bonkers because a pandemic-era rule restricting immigration at the Southern U.S. border has been lifted. There has been claims that the border is now wide open — despite messaging and plans intended to slow any such rush. The line coming from Republicans and their media is that Biden has completely lost control of the border. The criminal defendant who was ranting to a rally of his fans last night claimed that A) he had “built the wall” and B) that Biden was refusing to finish building the wall. So — what’s the story?
I happened to be in a store this afternoon, and a couple of print versions of two Murdoch rags caught my eye on the newsstand:
Don’t panic just yet…
I figured a larger sample size might be more useful before climbing into the bunker and arming the land mines. Here’s what I found looking at the digital versions of several papers from around the country, which presumably have been updating through the day. (Sorry if this is difficult to read on phones.) So, how about the Houston Chronicle?
Hmm. No screaming headlines about the border although this has something about live updates. So what’s happening in California? Let’s look at the LA Times.
Okay, big ad header — but what about that border crisis? How about Florida? They’re so concerned about immigrants, they import them so they can ship them elsewhere.
Okay — looks like the border story is one of those getting rotation across the top of the page — but it’s about a lawsuit to block restrictions on immigrants. Let’s look at what’s happening in the nation’s Capital.
Well, well. It looks like the big border news is that dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Who would have thought? Shall we look in on the Gray Lady?
Ukraine’s there again — but there’s something about the border too. Is that a headline reading “Border is Calm as Crowds Continue and Administration Fights Court Ruling”? Interesting. This seems a fair summary:
“The lawsuits we are facing frankly from both sides of the aisle really clearly demonstrate just how fundamentally broken our immigration system is,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, the assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Homeland Security Department.
Elsewhere in the Big Apple, the Daily News seems more concerned with immediate local issues:
Meanwhile, over in Beantown…
Ah yes, sports. Gotta have some priorities, right? How about the newspaper for everywhere and nowhere in particular, USA Today?
It looks like the most important thing for USA Today is… that big ad from Amazon. Oh, and the Florida Mouse War. Go figure.
Well, is it fair to match constantly updated digital news against fixed in print dead tree editions? Let’s take another look at the WSJ:
Well would you look at that! The big scary headline from earlier is gone — and there’s a new story further down the page: “Migrant Surge Wanes as Border Policy Expires”. Fascinating. And the NY Post?
Looks like the NY Post has settled on a new way to spin this, since the hordes at the border aren't quite living up to their advance billing — although the situation is far from ideal. The Post has found a killer local hook that will be all across the intertoobs. “Homeless vets are being booted from NY hotels to make room for migrants: advocate. Last Night, I Was Crying”.
It’s remarkable how much sympathy the right wing can have for homeless vets — even while House Republicans are demanding Biden slash their benefits.
Oh, and what is the network that had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for lying saying about the border situation?
“White House Rages!”“Sabotage!”“Biden Smiles and Chuckles!” All Hell is breaking loose — as usual according to Fox News when Democrats are in charge. I’d guess at this point the Fox News audience is convinced roaming mobs of immigrants are pillaging and burning the border.
I hope you enjoyed this little survey of how the border situation is getting handled by different news sources. If nothing else, it gives some idea of how much even those sources claiming to be reporting objectively can differ in their approach, their coverage, and their framing. It also shows how a narrative can shift depending on events — and the agenda of those reporting on them.