Comparing cnn.com, msn.com, and foxnews.com on the night Bill Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention made it easy to juxtapose the news sources. MSN and CNN were running the headline "Clinton: 'Barack Obama Ready to Lead'", Fox's headline read "Clinton: Obama is 'the man for this job'". All of these headlines were accompanied by a large photo of Bill Clinton, but upon further review these eye catching and seemingly unbiased titles took upon an opinionated undertone.
In the case of Fox News the byline read: "Former President Bill Clinton declares Obama ready for the White House before a rowdy Denver convention center.•What Next? Bill Skipping Obama Show", while MSN describes Clinton as "enthusiastic" and CNN mentions Bill's endorsement in conjuction with Hillary's. These three prominent news sources are presenting the same story, all in a manner that caters to their audience. For the conservatives reading Fox News, the condemnation of the Clinton-Obama alliance is to be expected and for the fluffy web layout of MSN it is no wonder the former president is portrayed in a light and favorable manner. CNN is a more hard-hitting news source than MSN, and incorporates Hillary Clinton into the story, creating a more complex and intertwining piece.
The formatting of CNN.com and foxnews.com is nearly as polarizing as their political leanings, with CNN's looking like a simple press-wire with headlines accompanied by bullet points,while foxnews uses more graphics and a wider variety of fonts. MSN.com is the type of site a reader short on time can visit and get the highlights of both world news, entertainment and human interest pieces. The audience attracted to MSN.com would likely be looking for a clear format where they can pick and choose thier stories. The site has created an easy to navigate landscape as the sections are clearly boxed: sports, entertainment etc. CNN requires more attentive reading, the headlines do not always tell the story and are not as often accompanied with photos. http://www.foxnews.com/ http://www.msn.com/ http://www.cnn.com/
