Published: Aug 06, 5:34 pm. Updated: Aug 07, 4:54 pm
About six hours after Vice President Kamala Harris announced her running mate, the New York Times had published 22 stories about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz or the selection. After Donald Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate, the NYT had published only 12 stories in 24 hours.*
The reverse happened at The Washington Post: 20 stories about Vance and 16 about Walz with four postings each flagged as “opinion.” The NYT had only one story flagged “opinion” and it was about Walz.
As of about 5 pm eastern on August 7, 2024, the New York Times has published more than 30 stories with “Walz” in the headline datelined August 6th, according to Google search. Vance: 12.
The Washington Post is now up to 40 for Walz. Vance the day of his nomination: 20.
Because the time of day has a bearing on that initial rollout, I also examined the number published the day of and the day after the announcement (one mid-day, one evening).
- New York Times: Vance, 27; Walz, 62
- Washington Post: Vance, 36; Walz, 56
Journalistic malpractice.
Methodology: Search Google using advanced search for July 15-16 and August 6-7 specifying Vance or Walz in the title/headline and limited to each domain.
However, the NYT continues its practice of presenting opinion/editorial style articles as “news”. It had only one such story about Trump-Vance but five about Harris-Walz along with one passive voice headline for the fail. And Vance? Three such headlines.
The New York Times notes that Minnesota would have its first female governor should the Harris-Walz prevail. There is no story about Ohio’s potentially open Senate seat. The NYT also features Walz’s wife but not Vance’s.
Given the time factor, the WaPo reporting appears (superficially) far more balanced in both content and numbers. It’s opinion-masquerading-as-news headlines appear more in the Vance column than the Walz one. But the one is a doozy: “Almost no one knows who Tim Walz is.”
Tell that to Minnesota and Wisconsin residents. Millions on Twitter/X, Facebook and TikTok. FoxNews. Or the 30% of Americans polled who do know who he is. And maybe, just maybe, that’s because he has spent his focus on governing rather than generating headlines. Even with his Trump-like headline style, 43% (+/- 2%) of those polled didn’t know Vance when he was nominated.
* Using Google News advanced search for the time period July 15-July 15 (Vance) and past 24 hours (Walz).
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Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com