NEWS MEDIA & POLITICS •
I. Endorsing a political candidate
• Introductory facts
Traditionally before a major election US & UK news press endorse a political party or candidate that is to say they specifically state or declare their support for them - or not...
Examples: The Sun’s and the Daily Mirror’s endorsements for the 2017 snap election on June 8, 2019 & The Economist criticising both US presidential candidates George W. Bush & John Kerry on October 30-November 5, 2004.
• Comparing two endorsements
Example of two endorsements from the 2020 U.S. presidential election :
- The New York Times opinion page, October 6, 2020.
- The New York Post front page, Monday October 26, 2020.
(see Documents p.1 or Presentation slide 2
)
The New York Times | The New York Post | |
Political leanings | supports Joe Biden, the former Democratic vice president | endorses Donald Trump the current Republican president. |
Visual style | in black and white with simple fonts and no special effects & a half-page photo | more colourful, with bright, vivid -garish? colours & highly visible full-page photo, text with upper-case letter in the endorsement and bold, large letter in the sentence |
Writing style | the text is simple, serious & urges Americans to elect Biden | endorsement is explicit & its headline uses and plays on Trump’s 2016 electoral slogan |
Generated impression | serenity, calm, seriousness | “louder”, more lively, combative, determined |
=> | quality paper | popular paper |