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Leavitt says the White House press secretary job was not right for Zacharia

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 8 outlets across the spectrum.

8 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Woman in red jacket speaking at White House press briefing podium with American flag and seal.
Image via The IndependentHow images are chosenReport this image

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview at a Turning Point USA campus event that the job “was not for” Katie Zacharia, who left the post after about five days, and that she wished Zacharia and her family well. Leavitt said President Trump was still considering candidates and that she had offered to help him find a successor. Outlets on all three sides report Zacharia’s short tenure and Leavitt’s comments. The Independent says Zacharia was fired, while The Hill and One America News say she stepped down.

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’s tenure as White House press secretary lasted about five days.

    Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left1Center2Right2Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    The Independent
    Center
    The Hill, Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post
    Far Right
    Fox News, One America News

  2. Leavitt said the job “was not for” Zacharia and that she wished Zacharia and her family well.

    Reported byCenter2Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    The Hill, Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post
    Far Right
    One America News

  3. Leavitt said she has offered to help President Trump find a successor and that Trump is still considering candidates.

    Reported byCenter1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Fox News, One America News

  4. Leavitt said the press secretary job is hard and that it is difficult to predict how someone will perform until they face reporters.

    Reported byCenter1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  5. Trump announced Zacharia’s appointment on October 9 after first contacting her about the role.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • Zacharia was fired from the press secretary job.

    The Independent reports that she was fired; The Hill and One America News say she stepped down after less than a week.

  • Leavitt’s remarks about Zacharia were a brutal attack on her successor.

    The Daily Mail, New York Post and Daily Beast describe the remarks as brutal or disastrous, while Newsweek calls them blunt. A source familiar with Zacharia’s thinking told the New York Post they were unfair, a source familiar with the matter told Newsweek they were quite unsavory, and Leavitt said she wished Zacharia well.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Zacharia’s time as press secretary ended after about five days and that Leavitt commented on it. The sides differ mainly in tone: left and right headlines call Leavitt’s remarks brutal, while center headlines describe them as blunt or quote her directly.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines frame Leavitt’s comments as a brutal verdict on her successor, the Daily Beast calling the stint disastrous, while the Independent simply reports that she weighed in.

    Karoline Leavitt Delivers Sensational language“Brutal Verdict”The headline’s own label of Leavitt’s remarks as brutal adds a judgement that the description does not establish.More neutral: comments on her successorDisagree with this highlight? on Her Successor
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines quote Leavitt’s words directly or call her remarks a blunt verdict, presenting them as the news without adding a judgement.

    Leavitt on Zacharia’s rapid exit: ‘The job obviously was not for her’
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    4 outlets

    Right headlines lead with Leavitt’s criticism, calling it a brutal shot or brutal verdict; Fox News calls the exit a debacle, while One America News uses a plain quote.

    Karoline Leavitt takes Loaded verb“brutal shot”“Shot” and “brutal” frame a measured remark as an attack that the quoted words do not carry.More neutral: criticism ofDisagree with this highlight? at Katie Zacharia after five-day stint as Trump's new press secretary
    Daily MailRightAll 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.

  • Left2

    disastrousBrutal Verdict

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right3

    debacleunleashedbrutal shot

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    debacleMore neutral: departure

    Calling the episode a debacle is the outlet’s own judgement of Zacharia’s tenure rather than a description of what happened.

    Leavitt opens up on helping Trump find new press secretary after Zacharia debacle: 'Wasn't for her'

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    disastrousMore neutral: short

    Calling the tenure disastrous is the outlet’s own judgement rather than a description of what happened.

    Leavitt, 29, was all smiles as she assessed Katie Zacharia’s disastrous five-day stint in the role that she held for 19 months.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Brutal VerdictMore neutral: comments on her successor

    The headline’s own label of Leavitt’s remarks as brutal adds a judgement that the description does not establish.

    Karoline Leavitt Delivers Brutal Verdict on Her Successor

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    unleashedMore neutral: said

    Unleashed implies force and drama beyond what a spoken interview remark conveys.

    Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt unleashed a sharp and blunt verdict on Katie Zacharia's week-long stint in her old job.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    brutal shotMore neutral: criticism of

    “Shot” and “brutal” frame a measured remark as an attack that the quoted words do not carry.

    Karoline Leavitt takes brutal shot at Katie Zacharia after five-day stint as Trump's new press secretary

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Leavitt’s judgment of Zacharia
  • Zacharia’s short, disastrous tenure
  • Trump’s choice of successor

Leaves out

  • Leavitt’s offer to help Trump find a successor

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

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The IndependentLeft

    Karoline Leavitt weighs in on 5-day tenure of successor Katie Zacharia

    Within five days of becoming White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia was fired

    Read at The Independent (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Karoline Leavitt Delivers Sensational language“Brutal Verdict”The headline’s own label of Leavitt’s remarks as brutal adds a judgement that the description does not establish.More neutral: comments on her successorDisagree with this highlight? on Her Successor

    Karoline Leavitt has finally weighed in on her successor’s short-lived tenure as White House press secretary. Leavitt, 29, was all smiles as she assessed Katie Zacharia’s Sensational language“disastrous”Calling the tenure disastrous is the outlet’s own judgement rather than a description of what happened.More neutral: shortDisagree with this highlight? five-day stint in the role that she held for 19 months. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Leavitt’s verdict on Zacharia
  • The difficulty of the press secretary job
  • Trump’s search for a replacement
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • NewsweekCenter

    Leavitt Delivers Blunt Verdict on Zacharia’s Brief Press Secretary Stint

    Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a frank assessment of Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure as her successor.

    Read at Newsweek (opens in a new tab)
  • The HillCenter

    Leavitt on Zacharia’s rapid exit: ‘The job obviously was not for her’

    Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged Thursday that her successor Katie Zacharia, who stepped down after less than a week as press secretary, was not a good fit for the job. “Look, White House press secretary is a tough job. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

4 outlets

Leads with

  • Leavitt’s blunt criticism of Zacharia
  • Zacharia’s five-day stint
  • Leavitt helping choose a successor
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • One America NewsFar Right

    Leavitt helping Trump find a new WH press secy.: ‘The job obviously was not for’ Katie Zacharia

    Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she is helping President Donald Trump to choose her next successor and acknowledged that Katie Zacharia, who stepped down from the role after less than a week, was not the best fit.

    Read at One America News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Karoline Leavitt drops ‘brutal’ verdict on Katie Zacharia performance

    Karoline Leavitt weighed in on her first successor to the White House press secretary job, Katie Zacharia.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Karoline Leavitt takes Loaded verb“brutal shot”“Shot” and “brutal” frame a measured remark as an attack that the quoted words do not carry.More neutral: criticism ofDisagree with this highlight? at Katie Zacharia after five-day stint as Trump's new press secretary

    Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is keeping it blunt when describing her successor, Katie Zacharia's brief stint in the job.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Leavitt opens up on helping Trump find new press secretary after Zacharia Sensational language“debacle”Calling the episode a debacle is the outlet’s own judgement of Zacharia’s tenure rather than a description of what happened.More neutral: departureDisagree with this highlight?: 'Wasn't for her'

    Karoline Leavitt says she's helping Trump find a new press secretary after Katie Zacharia lasted just five days in the demanding White House role.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, 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

    3 hr 33 min later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 2:40 PM EDT

  • Center

    2 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 1:08 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    Fox News, Oct 22, 11:07 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Fox NewsFar RightOct 22, 11:07 AM EDT
  2. The HillCenterOct 22, 1:08 PM EDT
  3. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 22, 2:40 PM EDT
  4. The IndependentLeftOct 22, 2:52 PM EDT
  5. Daily MailRightOct 22, 2:57 PM EDT
  6. New York PostRightOct 22, 3:53 PM EDT
  7. NewsweekCenterOct 22, 4:09 PM EDT
  8. One America NewsFar RightOct 22, 4:53 PM EDT

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

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