The Mueller Investigation or the Special Counsel Investigation was established as a counterintelligence investigation to examine the involvement or interference of the Russian government in the 2016 US Presidential Election. Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns were characterized by allegations of collusion with the Russian government to interfere with the elections. Controversy regarding the probable interference of the Russian government in the US presidential elections in 2016 is one of the major issues that has faced President Trump’s administration. The Special Counsel led by Robert Mueller carried out its investigations into the matter for two years. Given the significance of the issue in the American political landscape, the Mueller Investigation has attracted lots of media coverage and attention over the past two years. This paper examines media coverage on the Mueller Investigation, particularly coverage by Sean Hannity (Fox) and Rachel Maddow (MSNBC).
Media Coverage of Mueller Investigation
Roeder & Mehta (2018) contend that CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are three cable news networks that could not stop covering or talking about Mueller investigation in 2018. These three cable news networks devoted at least 3 percent of their news coverage to the Special Counsel Investigation in 2018. MSNBC and Fox News accounted for a significant portion of Mueller coverage as they averaged approximately 4.2 percent and 1.7 percent respectively. The increased media coverage on this issue occurred despite warnings by Robert Mueller that much of reporting on the probe was inaccurate. Media coverage on this probe increased after Mueller released a report, which could neither prove whether Trump and his presidential campaign colluded with Russia to interfere with the elections nor exonerate him.
In the aftermath of the report, cable news networks like CNN and MSNBC have seemingly been competing on coverage on this issue. Roeder & Mehta (2018) state that winter was Mueller season on MSNBC and CNN as the share of news...
At the core of the increased coverage of Mueller Investigation on Fox News and MSNBC are Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow. Similar to other mainstream media journalists, Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow took unique perspectives on their coverage of Mueller Investigation between March 28, 2019 and April 11, 2019. Hannity and Maddow took unique perspectives since they had different takes.
Sean Hannity’s coverage of the Mueller Investigation on Fox News seemingly celebrated the outcome of the probe. Hannity’s coverage on the probe...…the Mueller investigation is expected to come out this Thursday. This briefing is the full report of the investigation, which will provide details of the findings and conclusions about various topics and incidents relating to the probe. Special Counsel briefing is expected to reveal the legal analysis and factual findings that underline the conclusions shared by Attorney General Barr. It is estimated that the briefing will release a 400-page report exclusive of appendices and tables (Ewing, 2019). Therefore, this briefing will basically provide further details regarding the Mueller Investigation and how findings and conclusions were reached.
In conclusion, one of the most controversial issues that have characterized President Trump’s Administration is controversy regarding the potential involvement or interference with the 2016 U.S. presidential elections by the Russian government. Allegations regarding the possibility of collusion between Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government to interfere with these elections have dominated media coverage before, during and after the election. As shown in this discussion, cable news outlets have covered the issue differently, especially after the Mueller report was released last month. Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow have provided different perspectives in their coverage of the investigation due to their political stance and persuasion.
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