Thread by @JohnRWoodJr

From @alexandernaz at Yahoo News (Respectful complaint coming - a thread:)

"Political forecasters believe that the extent and success of recovery from the pandemic, which has so far killed 100,000 Americans and left more than 30 million without jobs..." 1/9

"... will determine whether President Trump holds on to the White House and down ballot Republicans retain their seats. But for Democrats and many of their allies, talk of an economic recovery is premature."

Here is the balanced way a journalist might write that last part: 2/9

'But for Democrats and many of their allies - whose own prospects for retaking the White House and congress would be bolstered by poor economic approval ratings for the President and his Republican allies - talk of an economic recovery is premature."

Why do I write this? 3/9

It's not to dump on Democrats or Mr. Nazaryan. There's nothing in his passage that was inaccurate. But distrust of the media comes in part from biased framing.

The framing here highlights (accurately) the political interest the Trump administration has in overlooking some... 4/9

...public health costs to Americans (this article is specifically about communities of color) in order to reopen the economy. This primes the reader to be attuned to the potentially selfish motivations of the GOP.

But it makes zero acknowledgement of the obvious parallel... 5/9

...political interest on the other side. One is left with the impression that the only plausible motivator for congressional Democrats in slowing reopening efforts is altruism. This casts them in the role of protagonist without ever having to identify them as such. 6/9

Overall it's a good article on an important subject. C-19, both in public health & economic damage, has been more burdensome for African-Americans and other minorities (as is the case with so many things for so many reasons).

Give it a read: 7/9

us.yahoo.com/news/coronavir…

But otherwise good pieces lose credibility with broader audiences when they subtly seek (or seem to seek) to serve a partisan agenda rather than striving for objectivity. Maybe objectivity is impossible - but many journalists could try harder than they do. 8/9

It's important for the country's future that they do so.

Fin.