#1- Bias in Cable News
So, first, let’s explain what this article is about. This article is about a 31-year-old Boston resident named DJ Ferguson. For a while now, He has been on the waiting list for a heart. Once the hospital found out that he hadn't received the vaccine, He was then made ineligible from receiving a heart. The family told the hospital that he wasn't against the Covid 19 vaccine, but he simply didn't get it due to his concerns that it could worsen his heart problem. Brigham and Women's declined to comment, but there was a response on the hospital’s website. The hospital's response simply states their requirements, which also includes receiving the vaccine. The hospital worries that without the vaccine, he would have an increased risk of getting covid. Patients who recently had an organ transplant have more of a risk of complications and death from Covid compared to those who have had the vaccine. Honestly, but NBC seemed very impartial. It was difficult to figure out what side they were leaning towards. Due to the quotes they used, I would assume that they leaned more on the side of the family and DJ. Overall though, the article was mostly impartial. The station did a great job reporting both sides of the story.
Abc news: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/boston-hospital-denies-heart-transplant-man-covid-19/story?id=82486765
The next news outlet that will be discussed is ABC. In this news outlet, more detailed information is recorded about his condition. Readers also learn the amount of time that he has been on the waiting list. He was diagnosed with Arrhythmia four years ago and then was placed on the waiting list. He was experiencing heart failure in the Winter and was then admitted to the hospital. The hospital declined to comment due to HIPAA law, and patient confidentiality. Through the last news outlet, it was phrased as if the hospital simply refused to provide information. However, in this article, readers learn that there was a reason as to why the hospital didn't report on the patient's story. They reviewed his medical history and found out that he did not receive his vaccine. Because of this, he was told that he was kicked off of the list, causing him to be unable to receive a heart. Not only does the hospital recommend the vaccine, but so does National Transplant Associations. After a transplant, one's immune system decreases and makes one more susceptible to getting illnesses (such as Covid 19). ABC also gave us an update on how DJ was doing. DJ received a heart pump last Tuesday, this device will give him up to 5 years to live. This news site was a little bit easier to find bias. Abc was leaning more on the Hospital's side. They were still very accurate with their information. The only way that one could tell what side ABC was on, is solely due to them using more quotes supporting the side of getting the vaccine before a transplant. Even though there was more bias in this article, this article was overall better than NBC’s. This article gave more information and was easier to understand. The website was more interactive as well.
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/26/1076004339/heart-transplant-patient-unvaccinated
The last news site that I will mention is NPR. Most of this article was already previously mentioned in ABC and NBC, however, we do learn a couple of new facts. Throughout reading this article, readers will learn that the family had a fundraising appeal that raised tens of thousands of dollars. The family raised the money after DJ was knocked off of the transplant list. Overall, this article provided even more information than the last two. Even though this website provided more information, this website also showed the most bias. Their bias was more on the side of the hospital. NPR provided more quotes from the hospital. Every time that they gave a family's reason as to why he did not feel comfortable getting the vaccine, they would give a response as to why it was unsafe to do so because he has atrial fibrillation. With Atrial fibrillation, people have a lower immune system. With a lower immune system, there is a higher chance of receiving Covid 19. With a heart condition, patients will have more of a risk of death from Covid compared to those who don’t have a heart condition. Along with the others, this website showed its bias. Compared to the others, this website showed the most bias.
Every one of these articles had a bias in it. The most reliable article was the one from ABC. Even though this article did show bias (as did all of the others), this article supplied the most information. Overall though, each article was biased. The one element that I noticed throughout each of these articles was that the news sites would use different bits of the same quotes. To support their side, they would use and rearrange the same quotes, in different ways. Even though each of the sites did show their bias, whether that be towards the DJ and his family, or towards the hospital- each still provided enough information. There will always be bias in news. Because every news site is biased, the viewers/reader's role is to decipher was is true and what is opinion.
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