Cosslett Stroud
Huma 1100
10 AM
Bundy Ranch Current Event Comparison
When one is reading a news posting there are subtle differences that most people
wouldn’t be aware of if they didn’t look for them. For one you need to be aware of the site you
are reading the posting on for the story may be the same topic but how it is reported and the
important points highlighted are different for each site. For an example a news story was
chosen about The end of the standoff between the Bereau of Land Management and a Nevada
rancher Cliven Bundy and his supporters over rounding up and removing his cattle. The same
story was taken from three sources which are Fox News, MSN, and CNN and while there were
several similarities due to this being the same story on all three sites there were several
differences on how the story was printed on each sight as well. First we’ll take a look at the
similarities of the story from all of the sites.
When this story was read on Fox’s, MSN’s, and CNN’s sites the story on each site had
several characteristics that were consistant with eachother as they should since all three were
reporting on the same story. All three were straight to the point that The Bureau of Land
Management, the BLM, had released all of the cattle that they had rounded up back to their
owner, Bundy. They all point out how Bundy was ignoring federal law by grazing his cattle on
federal lands without paying the grazing tax for well over twenty years now. All three pointed
out how Bundy had owed the federal government over one million dollars in built up fees that
he has refused to pay over the last twenty plus years. Finally all three news sources praised how
the incident was for the moment resolved without the use of violence on both sides. While
these stories were printed quite similarly to one another there were some key differences in
their stories due to their sources.
First let us take a look at the story from the Fox News website and see how it differed
from the other site’s versions. One of the differences in the Fox version was that it mentions
the republican party’s elected members in Nevada’s criticized the BLM. Another difference is
that with the way they reported it they make the BLM look like agents of a federal government
that is hampering the first amendments of the Constitution of the United States. As for the
statements that were put in the article they only had statements from members of the
Republican Party and none others. This all makes sense since Fox News has been known to be a
right wing news source. Now let’s take a look and the report from what has come to be known
as the antithesis of Fox.
MSN news has always been known to be a far left news network and it shows in how
they printed their article on the Bundy ranch incident. First off they actually called it a rebellion
of all things and that alone puts them far apart from the other two sources. The make the
federal employees of the BLM look good and is highly supportive of them while at the same
time makes Bundy and his supporters look bad and at time idiotic. When they put official
statements in they only took statements from the heads of the BLM trying to make the BLM
look like the victims. One of the starkest differences is that they criticized the government for
backing off claiming that they were setting a bad president for other cases like this to happen.
Now then let’s see how the last stations point of view differed from the others.
CNN news was different compared to the others as they didn’t seem to favor either side
near as much as the other two sources had. In their version they had official statements from
both sides of the conflict rather than one. Even more different that the others was that they
had pointed out that there was in fact small isolated moments of violence on both sides while
the other two stations had made no mention of small scuffles breaking out between both sides.
When it comes to both sides CNN didn’t paint either side to look better than the other because
they in fact gave examples that made both sides look bad rather than one. It gave more insight
onto the reasons why both sides were doing what they did rather than just criticizing one side
while making the other look like they were in the right. This shows CNN’s stand point as a
liberal news network rather than a right or left wing news station.
This news article fits in well with two of the readings in class which were civil
disobedience by Henry Thoreau and The Bill of Responsibilities from the Freedom foundation.
These two reading exercise several themes that coincide with the events that had happened at
Bundy’s ranch.
Thoreau’s article has a lot of relativity because it is about civil disobedience and that in
its self is exactly what was going on with Bundy and his supporter’s actions. Their actions were
the actions of civil disobedience as they were protesting the government for their actions
against Bundy and if the government hadn’t backed down then odds were very likely the
situation would have escalated. Bundy himself had been exercising civil disobedience now for
many years now as he has been refusing to pay a tax by the federal government which he
believes has no right or authority in imposing in the first place. This is how the news article
relates to Thoreau’s article on Civil Disobedience as like Thoreau Bundy does not believe in
more federal power but rather more state power as he has stated that if this tax was a state
imposed tax then he would have paid it without much issue.
The second reading that has some relevance to the show down at Bundy’s ranch is the
Bill of Responsibilities by the Freedom foundation. One of the responsibilities listed was to be
responsible for one’s actions and Bundy knew very well that eventually the government would
through the book at him for ignoring the tax and the court orders to remove his cattle from the
land but he refused. So when they came for his cattle he fought back and defended his actions
as was able to push back the government’s attempts on his cattle for the moment. Another
point was the tenant to give sympathy, understanding, and help to others. This held strong as
well when many ranchers across the nation rushed to Bundy’s aid and helped protest to
governments action since if this had happened to one of them in later years then most likely we
will have another incident similar to the Bundy’s ranch one where ranchers from all over the
nation would rush to their defense as well, just like they had done with Bundy in the past.
It was quite interesting to see how with one story there can be different versions of the
same story that has changes on how one or the other side is criticized. This story fit in well with
the class as well since it was an excellent example of a form of civil disobedience in today’s
society. It was a good way to get a great overall perspective off this story rather than just one
side of it.
References
"Bill of Responsibilities." It Begins with Our Questions a thematic Introduction to The
Humanities. Plymouth, MI: Hayden Mcneil Publishing, 2013. . Print.
Thoreau, Henry. "Civil Disobedience." It Begins with Our Questions A thematic Introduction to
The Humanities. Plymouth, MI: Hayden Mcneil Publishing, 2013. . Print.
Ellis, Ralph, AnneClaire Stapleton, Janet DiGiacomo, and Dan Simon. "Feds end roundup,
release cattle after tense Nevada showdown." CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Apr. 2014. Web.
25 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/12/us/nevada-rancher-rangers-cattleshowdown/index.html?iref=allsearch>.
"Safety concerns led to Nevada cow release, federal land ...." . N.p., 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr.
2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/13/safety-concerns-led-to-nevada-cowrelease-federal-land-managers-say/>.
Altman, Alex . "The Armed Rebellion on a Nevada Cattle Ranch Could Be Just the Start." The
Armed Rebellion on a Nevada Cattle Ranch Could Be Just the Start. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 25
Apr. 2014. <http://news.msn.com/us/the-armed-rebellion-on-a-nevada-cattle-ranch-could-bejust-the-start>.