Biden’s Reaction to Omicron Variant
Both CNN and Fox News posted reports of President Biden’s initial statements in regard to the appearance of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. Biden’s response was broadcast on Monday the 29th of November after a briefing with various health officials. Fox’s Brook Singman titled her White House report, Biden Says Omicron Variant is ‘cause for concern, Not a Cause for Panic, on November 30th. On the same day, CNN’s Zachary Wolf wrote an analysis called One Thing Biden Will Not do to Fight the Omicron Variant.
Fox’s report focuses mainly on summarising Biden’s perspective on the current global COVID-19 situation. The article clearly quotes his recommendations for unvaccinated individuals to get vaccinated and clarifies that these vaccinations and mask mandates are meant to prevent further lockdowns. In CNN’s article, these quotes are also provided but juxtaposed with the information that many nations outside of the US have turned back to lockdowns rather than push vaccinations. Wolf takes a more biased perspective while listing various repercussions and reactions following Omicron's arrival. Certain politicians have been accused of promoting the information regarding Omicron simply to gain public support. In the CNN report, this is called a conspiracy and is highly discouraged with the quote, “OMG. Stop.”
By including similar or identical references to Biden’s speech, both reports seem to share the goal to provide a reliable report on the president’s statements and perspective. Contrasting titles, however, clearly depict the biases of each news source. CNN’s title, One thing Biden Will Not Do to Fight the Omicron Variant, contains the connotation that the virus needs ample amounts of repercussions to contain. Fox’s title, however, highlights Biden’s description of the variant as concerning but not in need of panic. Even if these reports contained the exact same information then after, these differing titles clearly push readers into contrasting mindsets regarding the variant's severity.