The Coverage of Brett Kavanuagh and Jack Del Rio Shows Overwhelming Media Bias

It's no particular secret that mainstream media outlets are biased against certain points of view.

For example, last year NBC's Lester Holt said that hearing both sides is unnecessary to determine the "truth" and that "fairness is overrated:"

The latest example of this media principle in action is the disparate treatment given to two major stories that broke over the past few days; the assassination attempt at the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and comments made by Washington Commanders Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio about January 6th and the violence associated with protests after the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Clay Travis extensively detailed the absurd placement of the story at major media websites like the Washington Post and CNN:

The New York Times buried the story on page A20 of their physical newspaper, with a small, nearly unnoticeable box on the bottom of the page and a few sentences explaining the attempted murder of a sitting Supreme Court Justice:

It's hard to understate how ridiculous it is for the media to conflate these stories.

Even if you disagree with Del Rio's comments, for formerly prestigious news organizations like the Washington Post to treat what he said with the same level of importance as a clear and present threat of violence is indefensible.

Perhaps the explanation for their disturbing yet predictable minimization can be explained by the suspected assassin's stated motivations for going to Kavanaugh's home:

The media's partisan coverage of Supreme Court news and obsessive advocacy may very well have played a part in inciting the attempted violence, so they're uninterested in covering it appropriately.

Is there any doubt that if this attempt had been made at the home of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by someone claiming to be motivated by political disagreement, the story would have been covered on the front page and been the exclusive topic of conversation on CNN?

Instead, because they disagree with Kavanaugh's politics, it's treated as a similarly important story to Jack Del Rio questioning the media's lack of interest in the violence that surrounded numerous protests during the summer of 2020.

There is no justifiable reasoning for devoting the same resources and placement to these two stories. The only actual explanation is that it's yet another indicator of how mainstream news sources show their bias not just by how they write about an issue or political event, but what stories they choose to promote.