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Rep. Andy Harris says student reporter could face charges for recording him

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets across the spectrum.

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

Bearded man in glasses and pinstriped suit pointing upward while speaking at a press microphone.
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Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, objected to a student reporter recording his comments at a news gaggle after a Tuesday evening debate. Citing Maryland’s two-party consent law, he said the recording was unlawful. ABC News, The New Republic, Fox News and Washington Examiner describe his remarks as a threat of charges or prosecution against the reporter, Cat Murphy, a University of Maryland student working for Capital News Service. Fox News reports that the university’s journalism school defended her and says Harris wrongly claimed the recording broke the law. In an interview with Fox 45 Baltimore, Harris defended the exchange, saying “the liberal media badgers a conservative politician.” The Hill reports the same dispute.

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. Rep. Andy Harris objected to a student reporter recording him at a news gaggle after a Tuesday evening debate.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Left
    ABC News
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News

  2. Harris said the recording violated Maryland’s two-party consent law.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Center
    The Hill
    Far Right
    Fox News

  3. Coverage describes Harris’s remarks as a threat of criminal charges or prosecution against the student reporter.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News

  4. The reporter, Cat Murphy, is a University of Maryland student working for Capital News Service.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic
    Far Right
    Fox News

  5. The University of Maryland’s journalism school defended the student reporter.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  6. In an interview with Fox 45 Baltimore, Harris defended the exchange, saying the liberal media badgers a conservative politician.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The student’s recording of Harris violated Maryland’s two-party consent law.

    Harris says the recording violated the law. Fox News reports that the University of Maryland’s journalism school defended Murphy and says Harris wrongly claimed a violation.

  • Harris was defending himself against hostile media, or he overreacted to a student reporter.

    Harris says the liberal media badgers conservative politicians and that he pushed back. The New Republic describes him as having flipped out at the reporter and calls the debate disastrous.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Rep. Andy Harris objected to a student reporter recording him after a debate, citing Maryland’s consent law. Left and right headlines call his remarks a threat of charges, while the center leads with his legal accusation and his words about the media.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines present Harris’s remarks as a threat of charges or arrest against a student reporter, with the Far Left New Republic using the sharper “Call to Arrest” wording.

    Rep. Andy Harris threatens reporter with potential criminal charges for recording him
    ABC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Center headlines lead with Harris accusing the reporter of breaking the law and with his own words about the media, reporting the exchange as a spat he defends.

    Maryland Republican accuses reporter of violating law by recording postdebate gaggle
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right headlines frame the episode as Harris threatening or defending prosecution of a student journalist, with Fox adding that the university defended her and the Washington Examiner centering Harris’s defense.

    Rep Andy Harris threatens to have student journalist prosecuted for recording press conference
    Fox NewsFar 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.

  • Left3

    disastrous debateflipped outdoubled down

  • Center1

    told off

  • Right2

    wrongly claimedincorrectly insisted

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    told offMore neutral: told

    The phrase adds a tone of rebuke that the reported exchange does not state.

    In a video clip shared by The Baltimore Banner, Harris told off a reporter for recording him, citing Maryland's “two-party state” laws — which...

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    wrongly claimedMore neutral: claimed

    The phrase presents the legal dispute as settled in the outlet’s own voice rather than reporting the disagreement.

    Andy Harris wrongly claimed her recording violated Maryland consent law.

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    incorrectly insistedMore neutral: insisted

    The phrase presents the legal dispute as settled in the outlet’s own voice rather than reporting the disagreement.

    Andy Harris, R-Md., incorrectly insisted that a University of Maryland student journalist was violating state law when…

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    disastrous debateMore neutral: debate

    Adds a judgement about the debate's quality that the reported facts do not establish.

    …is defending his threat to have a student journalist arrested following a disastrous debate earlier this week.

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    flipped outMore neutral: became angry

    Describes Harris's reaction with an informal, dramatic phrase that goes beyond the reported facts.

    Baltimore TV station Fox 45 asked the Maryland congressman about how he flipped out at Capital News Service reporter Cat Murphy, a student at the University of…

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    doubled downMore neutral: defended

    Frames Harris's remarks as a stubborn escalation rather than a defense.

    Harris doubled down on the way he treated Murphy.

    Used byThe New Republic (Far 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.

  • Delegitimizing label

    Quoted

    liberal mediaMore neutral: name the outlet

    Dismisses reporting by presumed politics rather than by evidence.

    “Look the bottom line is, it’s not very newsworthy that the liberal media badgers a conservative politician.

    Quoted byThe New Republic (Far Left)The Hill (Center)Washington Examiner (Right)

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

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

  • threat of criminal charges
  • call to arrest the student
  • Harris defending his remarks
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New RepublicFar Left

    Republican Congressman Defends Call to Arrest Student Journalist

    Republican Representative Andy Harris is defending his threat to have a student journalist arrested following a Sensational language“disastrous debate”Adds a judgement about the debate's quality that the reported facts do not establish.More neutral: debateDisagree with this highlight? earlier this week. …

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

    Rep. Andy Harris threatens reporter with potential criminal charges for recording him

    Rep. Andy Harris attempted to invoke Maryland's two-party consent laws to object over the presence of a journalist at a news conference on Tuesday.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Harris’s accusation of unlawful recording
  • his remarks on the liberal media
  • the post-debate gaggle

Leaves out

  • the University of Maryland journalism school defending the student

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

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Harris threatening prosecution
  • university defending the student
  • Harris defending himself against the liberal media
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    Andy Harris defends prosecution threat against student journalist

    Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) defended his decision to threaten a Maryland reporter with prosecution during a post-debate press conference, framing the incident as him defending himself against “the Delegitimizing label“liberal media”Dismisses reporting by presumed politics rather than by evidence.More neutral: name the outletThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Rep Andy Harris threatens to have student journalist prosecuted for recording press conference

    University of Maryland's journalism school defended Cat Murphy after GOP Rep. Andy Harris Loaded verb“wrongly claimed”The phrase presents the legal dispute as settled in the outlet’s own voice rather than reporting the disagreement.More neutral: claimedDisagree with this highlight? her recording violated Maryland consent law.

    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

    7 hr 14 min later

    Its first report, Oct 14, 7:04 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 14, 11:50 AM EDT

  • Right

    1 day 4 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 15, 4:18 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 14, 11:50 AM EDT
  2. ABC NewsLeftOct 14, 7:04 PM EDT
  3. Fox NewsFar RightOct 15, 4:18 PM EDT
  4. The New RepublicFar LeftOct 16, 12:46 PM EDT
  5. Washington ExaminerRightOct 16, 5:59 PM EDT

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

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