Democrats blocked a coronavirus relief bill Thursday afternoon, defeating the proposed legislation by using a filibuster to foil a 52-47 majority that voted to pass it.
But don’t tell that to the nation’s leading news outlets. The way they see it, Democrats did not block the bill so much as Republicans failed to advance it. It is all a matter of perspective!
“Senate Republicans’ ‘skinny’ stimulus plan failed to advance, reflecting low prospects that Congress will enact another aid measure before November,” reports the New York Times.
CBS News went with this: “Senate fails to advance slimmed-down GOP coronavirus relief bill.”
“The Senate failed to advance a Republican proposal to address the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” said CNN.
“Slimmed-down GOP coronavirus relief bill fails to advance in Senate,” read the initial headline to the Washington Post’s coverage of the failed COVID-19 relief bill.
National Public Radio’s initial headline also read, “GOP COVID Relief Bill Fails In Senate.”
It is worth noting that these are all original news stories, reportedly independent of one another. This is not just the same wire story appearing in multiple news outlets. The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, etc. each reported on their own that Republicans failed Thursday to advance a coronavirus relief bill, not that Democrats had blocked it.
This is not always how these newsrooms characterize stories where one political party shoots down another’s bill.
On Oct. 11, 2011, CBS News reported, “Senate Republicans block Obama’s jobs package.”
On June 5, 2012, an NPR headline read, “Senate Republicans Block Paycheck Fairness Act.”
On April 9, 2014, the New York Times reported: “Senate Republicans Block Bill on Equal Pay.”
On April 9, 2014, the Washington Post reported, “Senate Republicans reject equal pay bill.”
On July 25, 2019, CNN reported: “GOP senators block election security legislation hours after Mueller warns of Russian interference.”
The weird thing is that many of these same newsrooms very recently had no problem reporting that Democrats blocked the GOP’s police reform bill. There are other examples of national media headlines noting accurately that Democratic lawmakers blocked Republican-sponsored legislation (though some of these examples don’t last long before undergoing quiet, Democratic-friendly edits).
Why, then, are these same newsrooms shy now about accurately characterizing what happened Thursday to the COVID-19 relief bill?
