The Tale of Barbara Bush
Two weeks ago, former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away at the age of 92. She had been battling health problems for awhile leading up to this point. The Bush family thought it was best to take her off life support and let nature take its course. The funeral was attended by many of the former families of the White House, to give condolences to the Bush family. These people included, the Obamas, the Bushes, the Clintons, and Melania Trump. President Donald Trump did not make an appearance. Both the Gaussian and Fox News wrote articles about this event. The perception given off from each article is different due to stacking, sources, diction, and images.
The Guardian’s liberal slant gives us the perception that President Trump is not liked by any of the former presidential families, even those of the same party. This idea is first given to us by the opening image. It has all of these important guests smiling like they are having a good time rather than being at a funeral. They all have a cheerful look in their eye like they are there to enjoy each other’s company rather than mourn someone who passed. This is supposed to send a message that they can all get along. This image however really highlights the missing current President, an idea reinforced by the subheading. “The warmth between them is the camaraderie you often see between rivals now bonded by experience. And the absence of Donald Trump can only have added to the relaxed air of the picture.” The diction used is blatantly obvious. Warmth, camaraderie, and relaxed are generally not words used to describe a funeral. However, because of the circumstance, The Guardian felt they were correct terms to describe the event. Once you get to the article it’s more of the same. Without mentioning anything about Bush’s death, they jump into the fact that President Trump wasn’t in attendance. Although they do quote him first, they use his quote to portray him negatively. The article continues to be stacked in a manner that shows great relationships between everyone there but President Trump. More quotes are used to show dislike and resent towards Trump, even from those in the Republican Party. To top it all off, the article talks about how wonderful of a time Melania Trump had. This is used to counteract all of the times where Melania seems to be miserable and alone, further showing President Trump as a despised and bad person.
Fox News gives off a totally different idea of the funeral, one praising Bush for her work and personality. Instead of beginning with an image of the former First Lady, they have an one and a half minute video commemorating her service to our country. The article begins with information about Bush and the circumstances of her death and funeral. There is little talk about who is there. They want to focus on celebrating her life as a public servant. The article calls her the Bush matriarch, giving us the perception of power, pride, and dignity. Without her, this family wouldn’t be where it is today. The next thing stacked in this article, let’s President Trump off the hook for not being there to give his condolences. The White House is the first quoted, showing respect and support for the presidency. We should allow the White unto speak for Trump and be understanding for why he isn’t there. The article then turns back to Bush. There are smaller subsections about each of the important guests. Within these, there is a picture of them smiling with her, and a quote praising Bush for her work and personality. This ends the article with a focus and the former First Lady. We are given the perception that she was very important for the United States. Her work greatly impacted millions of people, and it is sad to see her go.
The Guardian and Fox News wanted to show different views when reporting this story. The Guardian Used a very critical eye. They looked down on President Trump for not being in attendance. They found his reason to be that he is not a welcoming, kind person. They took the opportunity to then use a multitude of quotes from past political figures to further mock and shame him. Fox went with a story that was much more pleasant. It highlighted the good work that Bush had done. How these past presidential figures had come to love her and wanted to share their sorrow with the family. Because of this, Fox seemed to do a better job reporting the news. It reported the same people being there and used part of the same quote as The Guardian. However, it was much less bias as to how the people, present or not, act. It took the time to show how much someone’s life can mean to a community and country.