Donald Trump stepped on a political landmine yesterday. On
Hardball with Chris Matthews, Trump declared that “there should be some form of
punishment” for women who undergo illegal abortions. Immediately after these remarks, Trump was
denounced by those on the left and right in a freak firestorm that rarely
engulfs the real-estate mogul turned probable Republican nominee.
The media treatment of this story varied. Here, I have
analyzed three different articles, one from ABC, one from MotherJones and one
from Politico.
This article, while more critical than most legacy media
outlets have been in this election, was still an even handed treatment of the
Don and his “evolving” stance on abortion (as if anything in the Don's mind continues to be characterized by increasing innovation or improvement). There was speak about flip flopping,
although there was no declarative sentences saying this was a bad thing. The
report is very factual, and I give ABC kudos for actually digging to find videos and
recording of his contradictory statements throughout the decades, however the
article has no teeth. It is as drab as the name of the organization itself:
ABC.
As political journalism, Politico’s article provides the
political reaction to the Don’s statements yesterday. Parties and politicians
from both sides of the isle are quoted in denouncing the candidate’s most
recent abortion remarks. However, the article focuses more on entertaining political theatrics. It is written like an article in People Magazine except rather than
quoting a Kardashian, the major political players are all quoted. Aside from
the harsh quotes, no context is given surrounding the Don’s quotes, there is
little to no mention on his flip-flopping and certainly no digging to find evidence of contradicitons.
While the headline is indeed very declarative, the content
of the piece is short and sweet and also up to date. There is an examination of
the Hardball interview that harbored the comments. It also offers an updated
full press release from the Trump campaign retracting the Don’s comments,
instead offering the idea that doctors who preform illegal abortions should be
held accountable. The piece ends in typical MotherJones fashion, offering a
current real world case in which a woman in Tennessee is being held on assault
charges for trying to induce her own abortion.
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