Session 8 – Advanced English

Media Bias Research

The following research involves media bias in reporting of the results of Republican primary for
the Senate seat in Alabama.

Neutral source: NPR

Title: Jeff Sessions loses comeback bid for senate seat in Alabama

Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/890782768/jeff-sessions-is-projected-to-lose-comeback-
bid-for-alabama-senate-seat

Biased source 1: FOX News

Title: Trump is the big winner and Sessions is the big loser in Tuesday primaries, while the
democrats remain divided.

Quote 1 (Part A): “There are two key takeaways from the outcome of Tuesday’s primaries in
Alabama. First, the big winner of the night is president Trump.”

Quote 1 (Part B): “Second, Democratic primary results show the party is deeply divided,
complicating the Democrats’ path to winning majority control of the Senate and defeating Trump
in the November election.”

Quote 2: “Trump’s endorsement clearly carried more weight with voters than Sessions’
endorsements from prominent Republicans and his former Republican Senate colleagues,
including Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.”

Link: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/doug-schoen-trump-is-big-winner-in-tuesday-primaries-
while-democrats-remain-divided

Biased source 2: Slate

Title: Jeff Sessions’ political career is over.

Link: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/jeff-sessions-loses-alabama-senate-runoff.html

Quote 1: “Sessions will go nowhere. His political career is over because President Donald Trump
will be forever mad at him for recusing himself from, and not covering up, the Russia
investigation in 2017.”

Quote 2: “Sessions got his dream job because he was loyal to Trump and then lost job, career, and
dignity because, for a moment, he acted according to federal ethics. No need for a memoir either,
Jeff. Everyone saw it.”