Analysis: Speech Coverage

By Brett Stolpestad

The Washington Post article takes a focused approach to the issues discussed in the second presidential debate. For this story, the reported decided to focus on the issue of China and international trade.

Instead of covering and summarizing the debate topics and discussions as a whole, the reported decided to write about one key issue that the candidates discussed. The reporter tells the reader what the two candidates had to say about the trade policies of China and then provided background information about the past actions of the candidates related to the issue. The reported analyzes the candidates' arguments point by point, adding outside information about the candidates' history and stances on the issue.

The reporter summarizes the responses from each candidate about the Chinese trade issue but then goes beyond the debate by citing the analysis o Zachary A. Goldfarb, including direct quotes and background information.

The reporter does not provide many specifics or explanations on the activities of China in international trade. The candidates were reportedly debating on the unfair trade practices of China but there isn't much background information that would help the reader understand why this is such an important issue in the debate or what the implications of new policies might mean.