Former federal appeals judge Richard Posner dies at 87

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly left-leaning (75%).

5 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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The University of Chicago Law School said Richard Posner died on Nov. 10 at age 87. The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Epoch Times and Reason report his death. Posner was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit by Ronald Reagan and served there nearly 36 years in Chicago. The Washington Post says many ranked him second in influence only to Supreme Court justices. The New York Times calls him the most-cited legal scholar of the latter half of the 20th century. Reason describes him as a founder of law and economics and an enormously influential judge.

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The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

Richard Posner died, the University of Chicago Law School said.
Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left2Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Boston Globe
Left
The Washington Post, The New York Times
Right
Reason
Far Right
The Epoch Times
Posner was 87 when he died, according to the University of Chicago Law School and the reports that give his age.
Reported byFar Left1Left2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Boston Globe
Left
The Washington Post, The New York Times
Far Right
The Epoch Times
Posner was nominated to the 7th Circuit by President Ronald Reagan and served there nearly 36 years.
Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Washington Post
Far Right
The Epoch Times
Posner joined the University of Chicago Law School faculty in 1969.
One outletThe Epoch Times· Far Right
The Washington Post reports that many ranked Posner second in influence only to Supreme Court justices.
One outletThe Washington Post· Left

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

The New York Times describes Posner as the most-cited legal scholar of the latter half of the 20th century.
One side only: the leftReported byFar Left1Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Boston Globe
Left
The New York Times
Reason calls Posner a founder of law and economics.
One outletReason· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Richard Posner died at 87 and describes him as an influential judge and legal scholar. Left outlets stress his iconoclastic judging and citation record, while right-side outlets emphasize his law and economics work and his tenure at the University of Chicago.

the left
3 outlets
Left-side headlines, from The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Boston Globe, lead with his death and stress his influence and iconoclastic judging, with the Times emphasizing his standing in law.
Judge Richard A. Posner Has Died. His Influence in Law Was Absolutist framing“Beyond Compare”The headline presents a contested judgement of his influence as an unmatched fact rather than a reported assessment.More neutral: was among the most influentialDisagree with this highlight?.
The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
1 outlet · 1 opinion
Right-side coverage leads with his death and influence in the Epoch Times’ straight news report, while Reason’s piece is an opinion tribute calling him one of the greatest legal scholars of all time.
Richard A. Posner, Influential Former Federal Appeals Judge, Dies at 87
The Epoch TimesFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left1
Beyond Compare
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right1
greatest legal scholars of all time

In the outlets’ own words

Absolutist framing
greatest legal scholars of all timeMore neutral: was a highly regarded legal scholar
The description presents a personal evaluation of his standing as settled fact rather than as the writer’s opinion.
Posner was one of the greatest legal scholars of all time, a founder of law and economics, and an enormously influential judge.
Used byReason (Right)
Absolutist framing
Beyond CompareMore neutral: was among the most influential
The headline presents a contested judgement of his influence as an unmatched fact rather than a reported assessment.
His Influence in Law Was Beyond Compare.
Used byThe New York Times (Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

Absolutist framing
Quoted
the most influential legal scholar of all timeMore neutral: one of the most influential legal scholars
The superlative is a sweeping judgement presented as settled, and it is a claim of the school rather than established fact.
…the 7th Circuit for 36 years, and received broad recognition as “the most influential legal scholar of all time,” the school said in a statement on Nov.
Quoted byThe Epoch Times (Far Right)
These are University of Chicago Law School’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

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See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

his influence in law
iconoclastic, pragmatic judging
his citation record among legal scholars

Leaves out

his founding role in law and economics

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

The Washington PostLeft
Richard Posner, influential and iconoclastic federal judge, dies at 87
He served nearly 36 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago and was ranked by many as second in influence only to members of the Supreme Court.
14 hr agoRead at The Washington Post (opens in a new tab)
The New York TimesLeft
Judge Richard A. Posner Has Died. His Influence in Law Was Absolutist framing“Beyond Compare”The headline presents a contested judgement of his influence as an unmatched fact rather than a reported assessment.More neutral: was among the most influentialDisagree with this highlight?.
He was the most-cited legal scholar of the latter half of the 20th century and an unapologetic iconoclast, favoring pragmatism over judicial tradition. He was 87.
15 hr agoRead at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
Also published by The Boston Globe. It counts once.
The Boston GlobeFar LeftSame report as at The New York Times
Judge Richard A. Posner has died. His influence in law was beyond compare.
The Boston Globe published a report that is shown in full at The New York Times.
12 hr agoRead at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

1 outlet · 1 opinion

Leads with

36 years on the 7th Circuit
his role in law and economics
his influence as a judge and thinker

Leaves out

his ranking second in influence only to Supreme Court justices

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

The Epoch TimesFar Right
Richard A. Posner, Influential Former Federal Appeals Judge, Dies at 87
Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, Posner served 36 years on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and became a leading figure in law and economics.
5 hr agoRead at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
ReasonRightOpinion
Judge Richard Posner, RIP
Posner was one of the Absolutist framing“greatest legal scholars of all time”The description presents a personal evaluation of his standing as settled fact rather than as the writer’s opinion.More neutral: was a highly regarded legal scholarDisagree with this highlight?, a founder of law and economics, and an enormously influential judge.
16 hr agoRead at Reason (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
First to report
The New York Times, Nov 11, 8:04 PM EST
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
10 hr 10 min later
Its first report, Nov 12, 6:14 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

The New York TimesLeftNov 11, 8:04 PM EST
The Washington PostLeftNov 11, 8:31 PM EST
The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 11, 10:26 PM EST
The Epoch TimesFar RightNov 12, 6:14 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Former federal appeals judge Richard Posner dies at 87

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

Richard Posner, influential and iconoclastic federal judge, dies at 87

Judge Richard A. Posner Has Died. His Influence in Law Was Absolutist framing“Beyond Compare”The headline presents a contested judgement of his influence as an unmatched fact rather than a reported assessment.More neutral: was among the most influentialDisagree with this highlight?.

Judge Richard A. Posner has died. His influence in law was beyond compare.

From the center

From the right

Richard A. Posner, Influential Former Federal Appeals Judge, Dies at 87

Judge Richard Posner, RIP

How the coverage built up

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