Skip to content

PoliticsFeature

Newly elected members of Congress arrive in Washington for orientation

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 7 outlets across the spectrum.

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

More than 100 newly elected members of Congress are arriving in Washington this week for freshman orientation, the Associated Press reports, about a week after the midterm elections. The Washington Examiner reports that Democrats took control of the Senate in those elections, and that Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, flipped a seat in a state that had not elected a Democrat. Roll Call reports that the orientation includes trainings and guest speakers. The Epoch Times reports that members-elect checked into hotels and registered on Nov. 8 before a series of orientation events.

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

What happened

Key points

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

  1. More than 100 newly elected members of Congress are arriving in Washington this week for freshman orientation.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    ABC News
    Center
    Roll Call
    Right
    The Washington Times

  2. Newly elected members began arriving in Washington in the days after the midterm elections for orientation events.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    The Guardian, ABC News
    Center
    Roll Call
    Right
    The Washington Times, Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  3. Democrats won control of the Senate in last week’s midterm elections, according to the Washington Examiner.

    One outletWashington Examiner· Right

  4. Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, is among the incoming senators and flipped a Senate seat in a state that had not elected a Democrat, the Washington Examiner reports.

    One outletWashington Examiner· Right

  5. The orientation includes trainings and guest speakers, Roll Call reports.

    One outletRoll Call· Center

  6. Members-elect checked into hotels and registered on Nov. 8 before a series of orientation events, The Epoch Times reports.

    One outletThe Epoch Times· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that newly elected members of Congress are arriving in Washington for orientation after the midterms. The left headlines focus on the newcomers’ arrival in human-interest terms, while the right’s Washington Examiner stresses the Democratic Senate takeover and the center’s Roll Call covers the orientation’s social side.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Guardian headlines are visual and human-interest, built around the newcomers’ arrival; ABC and the Boston Globe run the same AP headline, which is a feature-style piece about new members learning their way around.

    Newly elected Democrats arrive in Washington – in pictures
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Roll Call’s headline is a light feature that frames the orientation as a social experience for new members, with no political framing in the headline.

    How to make friends at freshman orientation
    Roll CallCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Washington Examiner headlines stress the Democratic bluenami and Senate takeover; the Epoch Times headline is a plain arrival notice, and the Washington Times repeats the AP headline.

    PICTURED: Talarico, el Sayed, and new Senate Democrats descend on Congress for first time after midterm ‘Sensational language“bluenami”A coined blend of blue and tsunami that adds drama to the election result and signals a partisan view of it.More neutral: Democratic midterm gainsDisagree with this highlight?’
    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

    stunned

  • Center1

    Giddy

  • Right1

    bluenami

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    GiddyMore neutral: Enthusiastic

    The word adds an emotional intensity to the mood of the Democrats that the surrounding reporting does not establish.

    Giddy, even.

    Used byRoll Call (Center)

  • Sensational language

    bluenamiMore neutral: Democratic midterm gains

    A coined blend of blue and tsunami that adds drama to the election result and signals a partisan view of it.

    …el Sayed, and new Senate Democrats descend on Congress for first time after midterm ‘bluenami’

    Used byWashington Examiner (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    stunnedMore neutral: defeated

    The verb presents a routine election win as a dramatic shock to the reader rather than stating the result.

    WASHINGTON -- Rep.-elect LaKesha Womack, a community organizer who stunned her own Democratic Party by defeating a well-know North Carolina Republican on her…

    Used byABC News (Left)

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

3 outlets

Leads with

  • arrival of new members
  • personal moments and first impressions
  • faces and pictures of the newcomers
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • social side of orientation
  • quotes from incoming members
  • Democratic mood among the new class
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • Roll CallCenter

    How to make friends at freshman orientation

    What happens when more than 100 members-elect descend on Capitol Hill a week after Election Day? As Rep.-elect Dan Koh, D-Mass., put it, “It really is like high school — but it’s fun high school. …

    Read at Roll Call (opens in a new tab)

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Democratic takeover of the Senate
  • Adam Hamilton’s background as a pastor
  • faces of the incoming class
See the 3 headlines 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

    1 day 23 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 10, 2:20 PM EST

  • Center

    21 hr 57 min later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 12:32 PM EST

  • Right

    First to report

    The Epoch Times, Nov 8, 2:36 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Epoch TimesFar RightNov 8, 2:36 PM EST
  2. Roll CallCenterNov 9, 12:32 PM EST
  3. Washington ExaminerRightNov 9, 3:47 PM EST
  4. ABC NewsLeftNov 10, 2:20 PM EST
  5. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 10, 3:02 PM EST
  6. The Washington TimesRightNov 10, 3:12 PM EST
  7. The GuardianLeftNov 10, 3:23 PM EST

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

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it
Embed

Show this story’s coverage card on your own site, blog or class page. It has the headline, who is covering it and a link back here, and it tracks nobody. See the card

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page