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Reporter and bystander rescue driver from car sinking in Queensland floodwater

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

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

An ABC reporter, Will Murray, and a bystander rescued a driver whose car was swept into floodwater in Morayfield, Queensland, according to Al Jazeera English, BBC News and The Daily Beast. The car had driven into deep water, stalled and begun to sink. Murray and the bystander went to the vehicle. After failing to open the nearest door, they forced open a rear passenger door and pulled the man out. BBC News reports that Murray said he acted immediately because the man might have drowned. The Daily Beast reports that nearly 7 inches of rain had fallen in the area that day.

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. An ABC reporter, Will Murray, and a bystander rescued a driver from a car that was sinking in floodwater in Morayfield, Queensland.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News

  2. The driver had driven into deep floodwater and the SUV or four-wheel drive sank.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News

  3. Murray said he acted without hesitating because the man might have drowned.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  4. Murray called emergency services before going into the water, according to the Daily Beast.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

  5. Nearly 7 inches of rain had fallen in the area that day, according to the Daily Beast.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

  6. The driver later told Murray he had not seen the warning signs or realized how deep the water was, according to the Daily Beast.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that ABC reporter Will Murray and a bystander pulled a driver from a car sinking in floodwater in Morayfield, Queensland. The left-side outlets stress the drama, the footage and the rainfall, while the center BBC report centers on Murray’s own account of the rescue.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with the reporter’s heroism, and the Far Left Daily Beast amplifies it with ‘Heartstopping’ and video-driven drama, while Al Jazeera English states the rescue plainly.

    Reporter Saves Man From Sinking Car in Sensational language“Heartstopping”The word adds drama to a headline that the rescue facts do not require.More neutral: video of the rescueDisagree with this highlight? Video
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The BBC headline leads with the rescue footage (‘Moment man rescued’) and credits the journalist, with no added drama.

    Moment man rescued from sinking car by Australian TV reporter
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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

    Heartstopping

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    HeartstoppingMore neutral: video of the rescue

    The word adds drama to a headline that the rescue facts do not require.

    Reporter Saves Man From Sinking Car in Heartstopping Video

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far 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

2 outlets

Leads with

  • reporter as rescuer
  • dramatic footage and danger
  • driver’s lack of awareness of flood depth
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Reporter Saves Man From Sinking Car in Sensational language“Heartstopping”The word adds drama to a headline that the rescue facts do not require.More neutral: video of the rescueDisagree with this highlight? Video

    Heartstopping footage has captured the moment a news reporter plunged into floodwaters to save a driver whose car was rapidly sinking beneath the surface. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    Australian TV reporter rescues man from sinking car

    An Australian television reporter and a bystander rescued a man from a car as it was engulfed by flood waters in Morayfield, Queensland. Will Murray, a journalist with Australia’s public broadcaster ABC, was reporting on flooding when a man became trapped in a four-wheel drive.

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • journalist’s own account
  • split-second decision to act
  • sinking vehicle
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

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

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Oct 22, 12:19 AM EDT

  • Center

    6 hr 49 min later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 7:08 AM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 22, 12:19 AM EDT
  2. BBC NewsCenterOct 22, 7:08 AM EDT
  3. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 22, 11:44 AM EDT

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

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