Since I inadvertently stumbled into immigration issues year ago, reading how the media covers those issues has demonstrated how bad the American news media is. This week's "news" provides a clear example.
The big immigration news this week is the Supreme Court's oral arguments on the DACA rescission. During the build-up, I searched for news articles on the legal issues involved. I was curious how the media would explain the legal issues involved in the DACA case to the public and, in particular, their explanation of the implications of those issues.
I could find a few such explanations in the non-elite media.
However, I was not able to find any example of such an explanation in any elite media outlet. Instead of dealing with the legal issues involved in a legal case, the media served up political advocacy:
- USAToday: "'I'm just as American as they are': Activists, DACA recipients gather as Supreme Court hears case";
- Newsweek: "As DACA Hits Supreme Court, Study Finds Most Americans Want Undocumented Immigrants To Be Able to Stay in U.S. Legally";
- The Washington Post: "Losing DACA would, on top of everything else, double my college tuition";
- CBS News: "Young undocumented immigrants turn to Supreme Court to save DACA";
- US News: "Schools Fear Deportation of DACA Recipient Teachers"; and
- While not from the news pages, the great deprivation of reason comes from the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board: "Opinion: What slavery can teach Supreme Court justices about DACA"
In addition to finding no real legal analysis in any elite media outlet, I could not find any negative political consequence that could result from the Supreme Court blocking the DACA rescission. Instead, the dying elite media treated the DACA case as a political event where it is desirable for the court to act as a super-legislature rather than as a court of law.
If you represent an elite media outlet and I overlooked your coverage of the pro and con legal issues surrounding DACA, let me know.