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Montana Democratic Party chair resigns and endorses independent Senate candidate

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Shannon O’Brien, chair of the Montana Democratic Party, has resigned and endorsed independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar over the party’s nominee, Alani Bankhead. O’Brien announced the move in an op-ed on MS NOW, weeks before the November midterm elections. In the op-ed she wrote that the party is more divided than ever over the Senate race and that Bankhead lacks the momentum, resources or will to win. Bankhead pushed back on O’Brien’s accusations in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, and said O’Brien had been working against her campaign since the summer.

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. Shannon O’Brien resigned as chair of the Montana Democratic Party.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Washington Post
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  2. O’Brien endorsed independent Seth Bodnar over the party’s Democratic nominee, Alani Bankhead, in the Montana Senate race.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Washington Post
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  3. O’Brien announced her resignation and endorsement in an op-ed on MS NOW.

    Reported byCenter1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  4. O’Brien said Bankhead lacks the momentum, resources or will to win the race.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  5. Bankhead pushed back on O’Brien’s accusations and said O’Brien had been working against her campaign since the summer.

    One outletThe Epoch Times· Far Right

  6. Early voting is already underway in Montana.

    One outletThe Epoch Times· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • Bankhead lacks the momentum, resources or will to win the Senate race.

    O’Brien says so in her op-ed. Bankhead pushed back on O’Brien’s accusations in a statement to The Epoch Times and said O’Brien had been working against her campaign since the summer.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Shannon O’Brien resigned as Montana Democratic chair and endorsed independent Seth Bodnar over nominee Alani Bankhead. The main difference is emphasis: the left-leaning Post calls Bankhead embattled, while right-side outlets stress early voting and O’Brien’s view that Bankhead lacks the momentum to win.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The Post’s headline drops the nominee’s name and presents the endorsement as one of several by state Democrats, but its description calls the nominee embattled.

    Montana Democratic Party chair steps down, endorses independent candidate
    The Washington PostLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Hill’s headline states the resignation and endorsement plainly, attributing no motive to the chair and taking no side in the contest for the nominee.

    Montana Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent in Senate race
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines focus on the nominee: the far-right Epoch Times stresses that early voting has begun, while the Washington Examiner says the chair quits and backs an independent over the nominee.

    Montana Democratic Party chairwoman Loaded verb“quits”A casual verb for leaving a post that adds a tone of abandonment to an ordinary resignation.More neutral: resignsDisagree with this highlight?, backs independent in Senate race
    Washington ExaminerRightAll 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

    embattled

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    quits

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    embattledMore neutral: Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead

    Labels the nominee as weakened before any reason is given, a judgement the reporting does not show.

    …is the latest state Democrat to endorse independent candidate Seth Bodnar over embattled party nominee Alani Bankhead for Montana's open Senate seat.

    Used byThe Washington Post (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    quitsMore neutral: resigns

    A casual verb for leaving a post that adds a tone of abandonment to an ordinary resignation.

    Montana Democratic Party chairwoman quits, backs independent in Senate race

    Used byWashington Examiner (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

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the chair stepping down
  • other state Democrats backing Bodnar
  • the nominee’s troubled standing

Leaves out

  • O’Brien’s stated reasons for the endorsement

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

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Washington PostLeft

    Montana Democratic Party chair steps down, endorses independent candidate

    Shannon O'Brien is the latest state Democrat to endorse independent candidate Seth Bodnar over Loaded modifier“embattled”Labels the nominee as weakened before any reason is given, a judgement the reporting does not show.More neutral: Democratic nominee Alani BankheadDisagree with this highlight? party nominee Alani Bankhead for Montana's open Senate seat.

    Read at The Washington Post (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • O’Brien’s resignation and endorsement
  • op-ed published in MS NOW
  • party division over the Senate race
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Montana Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent in Senate race

    Shannon O'Brien, chair of the Montana Democratic Party, on Monday announced her resignation and endorsed Montana independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar weeks ahead of the November midterm elections. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • early voting underway
  • the chair’s rejection of the Democratic nominee
  • the nominee’s low chance of winning

Leaves out

  • other state Democrats endorsing Bodnar

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

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Montana Democratic Party chairwoman Loaded verb“quits”A casual verb for leaving a post that adds a tone of abandonment to an ordinary resignation.More neutral: resignsDisagree with this highlight?, backs independent in Senate race

    Shannon O’Brien, the chairwoman of the Montana Democratic Party, announced her resignation on Monday as she simultaneously endorsed an independent candidate over her party’s nominee in the state’s Senate race. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    With Early Voting Underway, Montana Democratic Party Chair Resigns, Backs Independent Senate Candidate

    In an MS NOW op-ed, Shannon O’Brien said the Democratic Senate nominee has neither the momentum nor resources to win.

    Read at The Epoch Times (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

    1 hr 10 min later

    Its first report, Oct 12, 7:29 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 12, 6:19 PM EDT

  • Right

    4 hr 11 min later

    Its first report, Oct 12, 10:30 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 12, 6:19 PM EDT
  2. The Washington PostLeftOct 12, 7:29 PM EDT
  3. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 12, 10:30 PM EDT
  4. Washington ExaminerRightOct 12, 10:35 PM EDT

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

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