Media Coverage of the Attack on the US Capitol, Essay Example

6th of January in 2021 saw the US Capitol attacked by a group of violent protesters who were determined to disrupt the joint session of Congress that was being held to certify the presidential election results. This was an insurrection at the Capitol that had threatened to undermine US democracy. Many media houses made a point of covering the events that took place on that fateful day in a bid to inform the public on the goings-on at the Capitol. Most international and national media houses broadcasted the attack of the US Capitol live, while others updated the public on that event on their social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook (Joyella 1). Additionally, on the day following the insurrection at the Capitol, several media houses, through their newspapers and other print media outlets, captured that event in their headlines and dedicated several pages to give an account of what happened. By and large, the coverage of the events of that day at the Capitol was done in a commendable manner by most media houses, save for a few that were openly biased in their reporting. In light of the analysis of different aspects of media coverage, it is evident that CNN did an exemplary job in reporting the events that occurred during the recent insurrection at the US Capitol.

To begin with, CNN’s reporting on the event was done in such a manner that the audience got a visual picture of what was actually happening at the Capitol. The protests at the Capitol were beamed live on CNN cable TV right from the time when the immediate former President Trump addressed his supporters near the White House, up until the point where the protesters stormed the Capitol. The live images of all the happenings on that day were very clear, giving every detail of most of the people who were involved in that attack on the Capitol (Joyella 1). This is also evidenced by the fact that the clarity of the images showing the attack on the Capitol enabled some of the protesters shown desecrating the parliament chambers to be arrested soon after the attack. Also, CNN’s social media pages, especially Twitter, showed clear images of certain people who destroyed property in the chambers and broke into the office of the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. One particular image is outstanding in which a man wearing a horned bear-skin hood over his head is seen sitting over the Speaker’s seat in the parliament chambers and aimlessly destroying documents in the office (Joyella 1). More importantly, CNN, in its live coverage of the insurrection and on all its social media platforms, refrained from showing viewers graphic images of the casualties who were injured during the protests. Indeed, the visual elements of CNN’s coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol were very impressive and professional.

CNN did not show any bias in the manner in which it reported the events surrounding the insurrection at the Capitol. The media house’s lack of bias is demonstrated by the fact that it was candid in referring to the protest as an insurrection and an attempted coup on the US government, sanctioned by the then President Donald Trump. CNN put up posts on its social media platforms affirming that Trump was the convener of the group of protestors who winded up attacking the Capitol (Folkenflik and Dreisbach 1). It takes a lot of courage and professionalism for a media house to inform the public about the real cause of an unlawful act as serious as attacking the US Capitol. The lack of bias on the part of CNN is also shown by live streaming of the address by the immediate former President Trump to his supporters near the White House, clearly inciting them to march toward the US Capitol to protest the ongoing certification of the Presidential Electoral College votes (Barrett, Raju and Nickeas 1). This was in stark contrast to other top media houses, which tried to absolve Trump of the offense of inciting violence in the US Capitol, which was irrefutable from the speech he gave his supporters moments before the attack (Joyella 1). Additionally, to support the reporting of the events on the Capitol as being conducted by extremists, CNN showed clear images of some of the protestors carrying confederate flags that are mostly used by white supremacists and other self-confessed extremist groups. Therefore, there was a lot of objectivity and neutrality in CNN’s reporting of the insurrection at the Capitol.

Another reason why CNN is arguably the best media house in terms of its coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol is that the quality of its interviews regarding those events was topnotch. CNN reporters at the grounds near the US Capitol interviewed some of the protesters in a bid to get to know the reason why they were hell-bent on desecrating the place. The reporters interviewed several people who were among the protesters on that day, and it was evident that most of them were acting out of Trump’s incitement and a deep hatred for President Biden (Joyella 1). CNN also interviewed police officers attached to the US Capitol with the intent of getting first-hand information on how the violence witnessed at the Capitol unfolded. Based on the interviews, it was evident that the violent protestors overpowered the security officers at the Capitol building and forcefully made their way into the premises (Poniewozik 1). It is also worthwhile noting that CNN interviewed some of the members of Congress (Senators and House Representatives) to get a first-hand account of what was going on in the chambers when the Capitol was attacked. CNN made a point of interviewing people from across the political divide, both Democrats and Republicans, to get a holistic perspective of what really transpired at the Capitol. Also, political and governance analysts were interviewed in CNN’s studios to explain to the public what the insurrection at the Capitol really meant for US democracy and sovereignty (Barrett, Raju, and Nickeas 1). Hence, CNN’s quality of interviews with regards to the insurrection at the Capitol was very good.

More importantly, the style of presentation of the events during and after the insurrection at the Capitol was such that there were alternating sessions of live coverage and interviews by panelists to try and make sense of the entire situation. CNN continuously gave replayed video recorded clips of the protests at the Capitol, showing how the protesters forcefully and violently made their way into the chambers by overpowering the law enforcement officers guarding the premises. Also, images of some of the people injured during the melee were intermittently beamed by CNN on TV screens to show the viewers the extent of the damage caused by protesters (Folkenflik and Dreisbach 1). Interviews with police officers and members of Congress served the purpose of strengthening the credibility of the images of the violence at the Capitol that were beamed on live television by CNN. CNN also regularly gave live updates on the unfolding of events during and after the insurrection at the Capitol, on its social media platforms. For this reason, CNN made it possible for people who were not able to access cable TV to keep abreast with what was happening at the Capitol in real-time (Barrett, Raju, and Nickeas 1). In fact, an analysis conducted by Nielsen Company showed that CNN recorded its highest ever viewership in 24 hours on that day, averaging approximately 5.22 million viewers (Joyella 1). This was the highest ever in CNN’s 40-year history. This shows that many people in the US and around the world preferred using CNN media to get information about the attack on the Capitol, further giving credence to the assertion that CNN covered that event in the best way possible.

CNN also demonstrated clarity of purpose in its coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol. The purpose for which CNN relayed information to the public about what was happening at the Capitol is to show the fragility of the US democracy and the respect for government institutions. This is evidenced by the fact that CNN dedicated many hours to reporting on news related to the siege at the Capitol by the extremists who had been mobilized at the behest of Trump (Joyella 1). The objectivity of CNN in its reporting of the events surrounding the attack on the Capitol was an enabler of clarity of purpose. In the afternoon of the 6th of January, 2021, when the violent protestors started forcing their way into the Capitol, CNN focused entirely on giving the viewers a full live coverage of what was actually happening (Poniewozik 1). Moreover, even on its social media platforms, CNN frequently updated its posts to reflect the actual situation at the Capitol building. Hence, there was great clarity of purpose on the part of CNN in reporting about the insurrection.

In addition, the clarity of purpose portrayed by CNN in covering the attack on the Capitol was enhanced by its almost exclusive reliance on primary sources of information. In other words, CNN’s reporting mainly utilized people who were at the US Capitol at the time the unfortunate events were actually happening. The primary sources of information included members of Congress, police officers, and protestors who gave first-hand accounts of the unfolding of events (Joyella 1). Also, the live video coverage offered by CNN about the mayhem and destruction of property that was happening at the Capitol at that time increased the confidence of the audience. This is probably one of the reasons why CNN recorded an upsurge in its viewership on the days following the insurrection at the Capitol.

However, other media houses failed to cover the attack on the US Capitol as extensively and professionally as CNN did. For instance, Fox News, one of the most popular media stations in the US, failed to report that the then President Trump was actually the cause of the violence that was witnessed at the Capitol (Folkenflik and Dreisbach 1). Even though Fox News reported Trump’s address to his supporters at the White House, it seemed to intentionally leave out the details showing Trump’s culpability of instigating violence at the Capitol.

Additionally, other media houses, such as the New York Times, did not use a proper visual representation of the violence that took place at the Capitol building. Although it reported quite extensively on its newspapers and other print media platforms about the happenings at the Capitol on that day, there were fewer images on the events of that day as compared to CNN’s images (Poniewozik 1). Therefore, in terms of visual reporting of the insurrection at the Capitol, the New York Times was not at par. Moreover, even on its social media platforms, there was no live update of the images that were being taken by photographers on the grounds at the Capitol, showing protesters destroying property.

The quality of interviews conducted by other media houses, save from CNN, was quite wanting because they did not cover a wide spectrum of people to get accurate information on what was actually happening on that day. The BBC News, for instance, did not interview many law enforcement officers and members of Congress on that day when the protestors attacked the Capitol (BBC 1). The only interviews that were conducted live during the protests were with a few of the protestors, some of whom uttered unpalatable words, which should not have been aired on live TV. Unlike CNN, which made an effort to interview members of Congress, protestors, law enforcement officers, and political analysts in the studio, BBC interviewed fewer people who did not give sufficient information on what actually happened at the Capitol.

Finally, many media houses were not organized in their styles of presentation and coverage of the attack on the Capitol. MSNBC, one of the major media houses in the US, did not give live commentaries by political and governance experts at the time when the protests at the Capitol were being broadcast live (Ambinder 1). In as much as MSNBC gave live coverage of the events on that day, there was not enough commentary of the news that was being beamed live on TV to enable viewers to make sense of what was happening at the Capitol. This probably explains why the viewership ratings on MSNBC on the day of the insurrection at the Capitol was way lower than that of CNN.

In conclusion, the coverage of the US Capitol attacks was done by various media, print and electronic, in a very clear manner that informed millions of people worldwide about what was going on. CNN did an exemplary job of reporting on the Capitol unfolding on that fateful day. It was factual and unbiased since it gave first-hand information, including live images of the destruction that was happening at the Capitol at that time. Other media houses did not sufficiently give comprehensive coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol. Some like Fox News were biased and concealed some information regarding the incitement that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Nevertheless, after critically analyzing the events the coverage of the insurrection at the US Capitol, CNN clearly demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and objectivity in media reporting.

Works Cited

Ambinder, Marc. “The pro-Trump attack on the Capitol proves Congress isn’t safe.” MSNBC, (2021). Retrieved from https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/pro-trump-attack-capitol-proves-congress-isn-t-safe-n1253145 on the 31st of January, 2021.

Barrett, Ted, Raju, Manu, and Nickeas, Peter. “US Capitol secured, 4 dead after rioters stormed the halls of Congress to block Biden’s win.” CNN, (2021). Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html on the 31st of January, 2021.

BBC. “The Storming of the US Capitol.” BBC, (2021).Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-55641714 on the 31st of January, 2021.

Folkenflik, David and Dreisbach, Tom. “After deadly Capitol riot, Fox News Stays Silent of Stars’ Incendiary Rhetoric.” NPR, (2021). Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/01/13/955694096/after-deadly-capitol-riot-fox-news-stays-silent-on-stars-incendiary-rhetoric on the 31st of January, 2021.

Joyella, Mark. “Attack on Capitol Pushes CNN to Its Most-Watched Day in History.” Forbes, (2021). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2021/01/07/attack-on-capitol-pushes-cnn-to-its-most-watched-day-in-history/?sh=5dc604863121 on the 31st of January, 2021.

Poniewozik, James. “The Attack on the US Capitol was Even Worse than it Looked.” The New York Times, (2021). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/arts/television/capitol-riot-graphic-videos.html on the 31st of January, 2021.