Sound bytes are vitally important in today's political spectrum. I thought it would be interesting to examine headlines relating to the election results, and how they might provide evidence of the paper's leanings.
I chose this angle because I noticed some interesting headlines on the New York Times political section. For example:
"In Republican Victories, Tide Turns Starkly"
Stark is a harsh-sounding, very memorable word. It has associations in English with madness and sudden, potentially unwanted change. It's rarely used in a positive light, even if its use here doesn't technically break objectivity.
"Tea Party Comes to Power on an Unclear Mandate"
Again, there's nothing here that can't be defended. However, it's a stark contrast (hah!) from the Tea Party's oft-repeated claims of what they stand for (small government, reduced spending, etc.).
"G.O.P. Leaders Vow to Repeal Health Care Law"
This one is interesting because it's next to a picture of a very glum President Obama. Rather than pin blame on him (like, say, the WSJ headline, "Obama Takes Blame for Losses") the onus on on the GOP. Now, if you opposed Obamacare, that headline might make you ecstatic. But I assume a large part of the New York Times readership (myself included) was not particularly happy with last night's election results.
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