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Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia says media and D.C. politics led to her ouster

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Katie Zacharia was removed as White House press secretary after a short tenure. Zacharia has since said that the media and Washington politics are to blame for her departure, and she told Newsmax that the media and Washington do not like outsiders. HuffPost reports that Zacharia said she was not prepared for the hostility of her Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, which came a few days after she started and preceded her removal. That outlet also reports that the interview followed a rocky first briefing and a report that she had not passed the bar despite calling herself a lawyer. Fox News denied the accusation that its interviews were set up to go badly for her.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

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

  1. Katie Zacharia was removed as White House press secretary after a short tenure.

    Reported byFar Left2Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic, HuffPost
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times

  2. Zacharia has said the media and Washington politics are to blame for her departure.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    The Washington Times

  3. Zacharia said she was not prepared for the hostility of her Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, which came a few days after she started.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  4. Before that interview, Zacharia had faced a rocky first briefing and a report that she had not passed the bar despite calling herself a lawyer.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  5. Fox News denied an accusation that its interviews with Zacharia were set up to go badly for her.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Fox News set up Zacharia's Hannity interview to go badly for her.

    Newsmax host Rob Finnerty asked whether the interviews were deliberately set up that way, as a narrative others were pushing; Fox News denied the accusation and praised Hannity’s authenticity.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that Katie Zacharia was removed as White House press secretary and that she has blamed the media and Washington politics. The left stresses her Hannity interview and her bar question, while the center and right lead with her claims against the press and D.C. politics.

  • the left

    1 outlet · 1 opinion

    Left headlines center her Hannity interview, and the far-left opinion headline ridicules her claim that the media was mean to her.

    Katie Zacharia Still Baffled By Hannity Interview Gone Wrong: ‘Not Prepared For The Hostility’
    HuffPostFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Hill headline leads with her accusation that the press corps has Trump Derangement Syndrome, quoting her directly.

    Zacharia says press corps has ‘Partisan shorthand“Trump Derangement Syndrome”A label coined by critics of Trump that carries the conclusion that opposition to him is a mental disorder.More neutral: criticism of TrumpThese are Katie Zacharia’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?'
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The right headline takes Zacharia's account as the explanation, saying she blames the media and D.C. politics for her ouster.

    Katie Zacharia blames media, D.C. politics for her ouster as White House press secretary
    The Washington TimesRightAll 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.

  • Left5

    meaniesspectacular flame-outtried to spinSooooo Mean

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    meaniesMore neutral: the media

    A childish label for the media that dismisses her complaint in the outlet’s own voice.

    Katie Zacharia is blaming the meanies in the media for her spectacular flame-out as White House press secretary.

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    spectacular flame-outMore neutral: brief tenure

    Dramatic wording in the outlet’s own voice that adds judgement to a job ending.

    Katie Zacharia is blaming the meanies in the media for her spectacular flame-out as White House press secretary.

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    tried to spinMore neutral: described

    Says her account is a manipulation rather than her description of events.

    Appearing on Newsmax’s Finnerty Tuesday, Zacharia tried to spin her own narrative on why she was fired after just one week of serving in the White…

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Sooooo MeanMore neutral: said the media treated her unfairly

    The exaggerated spelling mocks her account before the reader has weighed it.

    Katie Zacharia Claims She Quit Because Everyone Was Sooooo Mean to Her

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    fateful appearanceMore neutral: appearance

    The word fateful adds drama that the facts do not state; the appearance is described by its date and its effect.

    Zacharia made her fateful appearance on “Hannity” a few days after she started the job.

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (2)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.

  • Dehumanizing label

    Quoted

    Trump Derangement SyndromeMore neutral: critics of Trump

    Pathologizes disagreement.

    …debut and scrutiny of her legal background, accused reporters of fueling “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in their coverage of President Trump.

    Quoted byThe Hill (Center)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

  • Partisan shorthand

    Quoted

    Trump Derangement SyndromeMore neutral: criticism of Trump

    A label coined by critics of Trump that carries the conclusion that opposition to him is a mental disorder.

    Zacharia says press corps has ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome'

    Quoted byThe Hill (Center)

    These are Katie Zacharia’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

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

1 outlet · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • her Hannity interview
  • her surprise at the hostility
  • her legal credentials
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • HuffPostFar Left

    Katie Zacharia Still Baffled By Hannity Interview Gone Wrong: ‘Not Prepared For The Hostility’

    The former press secretary took issue with the way her chat with the Fox News host went down.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
  • The New RepublicFar LeftOpinion

    Katie Zacharia Claims She Quit Because Everyone Was Sensational language“Sooooo Mean”The exaggerated spelling mocks her account before the reader has weighed it.More neutral: said the media treated her unfairlyDisagree with this highlight? to Her

    Katie Zacharia is blaming the Loaded modifier“meanies”A childish label for the media that dismisses her complaint in the outlet’s own voice.More neutral: the mediaDisagree with this highlight? in the media for her Sensational language“spectacular flame-out”Dramatic wording in the outlet’s own voice that adds judgement to a job ending.More neutral: brief tenureDisagree with this highlight? as White House press secretary. Appearing on Newsmax’s Finnerty Tuesday, Zacharia Loaded verb“tried to spin”Says her account is a manipulation rather than her description of events.More neutral: describedDisagree with this highlight? her own narrative on why she was fired after just one week of serving in the White House. …

    Read at The New Republic (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • her accusation against reporters
  • her removal after five days
  • her quiet since the ouster
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Zacharia says press corps has ‘Partisan shorthand“Trump Derangement Syndrome”A label coined by critics of Trump that carries the conclusion that opposition to him is a mental disorder.More neutral: criticism of TrumpThese are Katie Zacharia’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?'

    Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who was fired from her role after five days following a rocky debut and scrutiny of her legal background, accused reporters of fueling “Dehumanizing label“Trump Derangement Syndrome”Pathologizes disagreement.More neutral: critics of TrumpThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?” in their coverage of President Trump. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • blame on the media
  • blame on D.C. politics
  • her short tenure
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

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

    20 hr 47 min later

    Its first report, Oct 28, 12:46 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 27, 4:00 PM EDT

  • Right

    21 hr 54 min later

    Its first report, Oct 28, 1:54 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 27, 4:00 PM EDT
  2. HuffPostFar LeftOct 28, 12:46 PM EDT
  3. The Washington TimesRightOct 28, 1:54 PM EDT

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

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