This is a question I hear often enough when I talk about teaching current events – is CNN 10 biased?
CNN10 (formerly CNN Student News) is one of my favorite resources for teaching current events. I’ve written about why I like CNN10 as well as ways that you can incorporate it into your class.
But looking at the search analytics for this site, there is a decent number of people searching for the phrase, “Is CNN 10 biased?” I’ve also had negative responses to social media posts, where people suggest that CNN10 is fake or biased in some way.
Perhaps this shouldn’t be all that surprising, given the President’s ongoing feud with the parent company – CNN. He has decried CNN as “fake news” and tweeted a video of himself wrestling a person with CNN’s logo superimposed over his face.
So I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a week’s worth of stories and coverage on CNN10 and analyze whether it seemed biased or neutral. Here’s what I found.
What Stories Did CNN10 Cover This Week?
First, let me run down the stories that were covered. This is for the week of December 4 through December 8.
On Monday, December 4, the video opened with a story about Michael Flynn. It reported on the news that broke on Friday that Flynn had pled guilty to lying to the FBI. This was followed by a story about the tax bill in Congress. It was reported that the Senate had passed its version of a tax bill late Friday night, and the video continued to provide a brief overview of what the tax bill would do. Then, there was a follow up story about slavery in Libya. A longer story was featured a week or two ago, and this story focused on the reactions of the journalists who had covered it. Finally, there was a feature about astronomy and moons.
On Tuesday, December 5, the video opened with a story that President Trump was considering recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This included a brief history of Jerusalem and the controversy surrounding it. This was followed by a brief report about the Supreme Court making a ruling related to the travel ban – the court allowed the ban to go into effect while the appeal process played out. The video wrapped up with a story about national monuments in Utah. First, it was reported that President Trump was going to reduce the size of the monuments and allow some of the territory to be used for grazing. Then, there was footage of the monuments themselves.
On Wednesday, December 6, the video opened with a story that the Russians had been banned from competing in the winter olympics for doping violations. This was followed by a story about Congressman John Conyers resigning. This story mentioned that other politicians on both sides of the aisle had been accused of misconduct, but that he was the first to resign. Then there was a story about the Aetna and CVS merger. Finally, there was an extended feature about the Supreme Court cake case (Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission). It was reported that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, followed by a brief background on the case. The piece wrapped up with interviews with both the cake owner and the couple.
On Thursday, December 7, the video opened with a story that President Trump had decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American embassy from Tel Aviv. This was followed by a feature about Pearl Harbor, which included some basic history of the event and an extended interview with one of the last survivors of the attack. Finally, there was a piece about a professor at Penn State that specializes in ice cream. It looked tasty.
On Friday, December 8, the video opened with a story about the California wildfires. There was footage of the new fire near Los Angeles and a description of the damage that it was done. This was followed by a story about Senator Al Franken resigning after numerous accusations of sexual misconduct. There was a brief follow-up about Congressman Trent Franks, a Republican who also resigned this week. The week wrapped up with a story about the upcoming winter olympics in South Korea and some of the anticipated problems, including threats from North Korea and a potential Russian boycott.
Is the Choice of Stories to Cover Balanced?
The first thing to consider is whether or not the choice of stories is balanced. You can provide factual reports of events and still be biased if you only report things that show a group in a certain light – be it positive or negative.
There were eighteen different stories presented this week. Half of these were in some way related to American politics.
Two of these stories were about Democrats, and both of them were negative – John Conyers and Al Franken resigned due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
The other seven stories were about Trump or the Republicans in Congress. Two are definitely negative (Flynn pleading guilty and Trent Franks resigning), and one of them is positive (the Republicans passed a tax bill in the Senate). Another one is arguably positive (the Supreme Court allowed the travel ban to be implemented), while the other three (the two stories about Jerusalem and the story about the national monuments) are arguably neutral.
For the most part, I’d say that this choice of stories paints President Trump and the Republican party in a neutral or favorable light. By contrast, the Democrats come out of the week looking terrible. It would be hard to argue that this selection of news was biased in any way to portray the Republican party or conservatives in a negative light.
Is the Reporting in the Stories Balanced and Unbiased?
I think the national conversation of “fake news” is starting to trickle down to CNN10, because the anchor, Carl Azuz, mentioned things like “balanced” reporting several times throughout the week. I don’t remember there being such an emphasis on this in years past.
There is very little in the way of news analysis or opinion in the video, so in that sense there is no bias towards liberal or conservative commentators. In each political story, Carl Azuz typically says something like “supporters make this argument, while opponents make this argument.” For example, while reporting on the tax bill, it was indicated that opponents of the tax bill feared that it would add to the deficit over time while supporters of the bill argued that it would spur economic growth that would cancel out this deficit increase.
Even though I would personally argue that there’s plenty of evidence supporting the idea that this will add to the deficit, the reporting in the video did not stake a claim either way. It presented both sides of the argument as equal.
Even in the Supreme Court cake case story, an effort was made to make each side seem reasonable. There were personal interviews with each side of the story. Both the couple and the bakery owner came off as rational, reasonable people.
If anything, the reporting in CNN10 is too balanced. It always presents both sides of an issue as having equal weight, and it makes no effort to differentiate good arguments from bad. This is a perfect example of the fallacy of false balance. And that’s fine; maybe it’s not the newscaster’s job to do that.
But it is a good reason to teach your students to be critical of what they are hearing. This is a good place to hear what the arguments are, and then they can take time later to research and critique those arguments on their own.
The Final Verdict – Is CNN 10 Biased?
Nope. Sorry.
I know some people want to hate on CNN, and that hate flows down to this program. But after carefully watching and analyzing an entire week’s worth of coverage, I don’t see any evidence to support the claim that CNN 10 is biased.
If you disagree, then provide some details in the comments section. I’d be happy to take a look at other videos and other weeks to see if this pattern holds overall.
But I think it’s safe to say that CNN 10 is a neutral, reliable source of news for your students. Read more about why I like using it in my class and about different ways that I incorporate it into my class. It’s a great way to keep your students up to date with current events and knowledgeable about what’s going on in the world.
More Resources on Teaching with CNN10
So now that that’s settled (hopefully), are you looking for some more resources on how to teach with CNN10? Check out this post on methods and assessments I use with CNN10, and check out this post with a set of discussion questions that you can use.
Don’t forget, incorporating current events and controversial issues is one of the six research-based methods for improving civics education. You can read about the other’s here.
Finally, using CNN10 to incorporate current events into your class can be a great way to make social studies and civics more exciting. Check out these other suggestions for ways that you can teach civics and government in a fun way.
View Comments (19)
cnn10 is a sign of political bias
Agree!!
Thank you for that very factual opinion. We were just given an article why CNN 10 is unbiased. I am even a Republican myself, but after watching CNN 10 for about a year, they have proven to be as unbiased as they can be.
CNN by itself is terribly pseudo-objective. CNN 10, however, surprisingly appears to be pretty balanced. Nonetheless, this distrust definitely seems justified and CNN 10 should be analyzed carefully for bias in the future–as knowing the parent company, it definitely wouldn't surprise me if that objectivity fades away.
I was just made aware of this CNN10 by my 3rd grade daughter. She said they watch this in school. So here I am. Well I might have to do some more research but I don't think a 3rd grader needs the "news". I dont think any of us do right now lol. Turn off the tv and get outside. Treat each other respectfully and civilly and we'll all be fine.
I believe the author of this article is a Democrat so, of course, it is not biased. Please go back to the weeks when the election was taking place. I pulled my son from these ridiculous classes reporting partisan, Democrat bias. Pro Hillary in most stories. Basically, the only con about Hillary was in regards to the missing emails.
I also don't like that they talk about such sensitive issues regarding sexual assault. My son was only 10 when he heard a lot of these stories. That's too young. He was also terrified watching news about North Korea and how close they can get to the USA. Now he is in 6th grade but still only 11 and I don't find some of the stories appropriate.
I agree. My daughters 9. 3rd grade. What ever happened to veggie tales?
As a conservative Republican, and feeling ridiculous for qualifying this, I agree that CNN10 has balanced reporting on current events. I enjoy the succinct conveyance of information about which my students and I can then have in-depth conversations. Sadly, these responses are a commentary on our world, where unless you line up to my political beliefs, we cannot discuss the history that is happening in front of us.
Taryn Greene your son needs to know what is going on in the world. To pull him out of school due to his teacher showing the news not only prevents education but also makes it look like you want to hide him from the truth.
Not all truth is learned at age 10. Let's not be ridiculous. You have to see that. You think a child should have to formulate opinions on things that aren't even understandable to them yet?
The problem is if there is a filter. Yes there is, this is only one week. I am a student myself, watching these everyday, although the way it is reported is unbiased, nothing is unbiased. Anything written by a human is biased, it is just human nature. It is a matter of how biased. Considering since this is for students, it would have been in the company's best interest to keep it as unbiased as possible. More likely than not, it is biased a little, but not too much. Also, you can not take one week of reporting out of the amount of years this program has been running and say it is unbiased. Not enough evidence I am afraid.
Okay well I've been watching this show for YEARS, not a week, and I completely agree that it is the most unbiased thing on the news! Whatever you think about CNN, FOX, MSNBC or any of them, this show gets it right.
A lot of people want to hate on the media, but if it has anything that's unbiased, this is it. Even though it's short and doesn't go in depth, the other news could learn a lot from CNN10.
“ Trump's finger-pointing on USPS is latest attempt to rewrite history in real time“ no, not biased AT-ALL.
This “news” network is a joke of the journalism industry, I should know, I am an journalist. CNN is a propaganda machine used by Left to indoctrinate it’s viewers. CNN reports THOUGHT vs reporting instance.
CNN is being played to students in classrooms is sickening.
Dr. HG Hill,
You are citing an article headline from CNN Politics. This post is about whether or not CNN10, a program designed for students and classrooms, has strong bias.
I encourage you to to go watch some of these 10 minute episodes from CNN10. Heck, watch it every day for a month. I have seen many episodes over several years. When, because of events, they have to touch on politicized topics/issues, they try very hard to present 1.) the basic info about the situations and 2.) Briefly state what both sides of the aisle are saying about it. Then quickly move on.
This is NOT the same as CNN the cable news station. Which IS often very biased and, due to their 24 hour cycle, sometimes inaccurate. Just because it has a CNN next to it does not immediately illegitimate it. Your opinion that it does only speaks to your OWN biases. Your inflammatory response assumes a lot, and is akin to me stating any program or media produced by Fox is conservative biased trash. The situation is more nuanced than that!
To be blunt, the type of tribal, overreacting, uninformed thought/speech you are demonstrating is exactly what many teachers are trying to help students avoid. They are trying to raise informed, critical thinking, problem solving citizens. I wish more parents did the same instead of trying so hard to convert their child to their political views. Teach them to think for themselves using evidence, analysis, and the exploration of multiple perspectives!
Dr. HG Hill,
You are citing an article headline from CNN Politics. This post is about whether or not CNN10, a program designed for students and classrooms, has strong bias.
I encourage you to to go watch some of these 10 minute episodes from CNN10. Heck, watch it every day for a month. I have seen many episodes over several years. When, because of events, they have to touch on politicized topics/issues, they try very hard to present 1.) the basic info about the situations and 2.) Briefly state what both sides of the aisle are saying about it. Then quickly move on.
This is NOT the same as CNN the cable news station. Which IS often very biased and, due to their 24 hour cycle, sometimes inaccurate. Just because it has a CNN next to it does not immediately illegitimate it. Your opinion that it does only speaks to your OWN biases. Your inflammatory response assumes a lot, and is akin to me stating any program or media produced by Fox is conservative biased trash. The situation is more nuanced than that!
To be blunt, the type of tribal, overreacting, uninformed thought/speech you are demonstrating is exactly what many teachers are trying to help students avoid. They are trying to raise informed, critical thinking, problem solving citizens. I wish more parents did the same instead of trying so hard to convert their child to their political views. Teach them to think for themselves using evidence, analysis, and the exploration of multiple perspectives!
Ironic how a person calling themselves a journalist wouldn't even bother to fix their own grammatical errors. Your rants against the "propaganda machine" CNN being exceptionally biased. In your last line, the one regarding how "sickening" the idea of "CNN...played to students in classrooms," you took a completely unknown user's testimony and twisted it to incriminate CNN as the culprit for an account that not even the most naïve and ignorant reporters would find even reasonably acceptable as a credible source.
So let me tell you, you squandering abecedarian. Your sheer credulousness to these spurious claims made by people you support show how absolutely jejune you are to axioms of logic. Please refrain from making any aspersions towards the news network CNN out of fabrications and deceptions you may forge from the dark pits of your clueless mind.
“I am an journalist.”
Posting in comment sections is not journalism.
CNN10 is probably the most balanced thing CNN reports. While this can be a great tool for educators, the issue conservative parents have with students watching it is it is put out by CNN, which is very biased.
CNN10 makes a lot sense, because it might be the first exposure children have to CNN. If you can convince these children to trust CNN through CNN10 then these children are more likely to go CNN for their news and not be aware that they are being exposed to heavily biased news reporting.
The issue educators face, is CNN10 is one of the best if not the best program highlighting current events for students.
I agree with you Frank