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In-laws plead not guilty to murder of New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

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

Exterior of a building with 'The New York Times' lettering on a glass facade, angled view.
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both 77, pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the killing of Jonathan McKinsey, a New York Times executive, according to the defense. Prosecutors allege the couple shot McKinsey on Sept. 26 in a California parking lot, and say it happened during a court-supervised visit with his children. Chen’s defense attorney says she was terrified of McKinsey, who had threatened to hire someone to kill her, and describes the shooting as spontaneous rather than premeditated. The attorney also says Candice Jang, McKinsey’s former wife and Chen’s daughter, is not connected to the shooting, though she is technically under investigation.

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. Prosecutors allege that the in-laws of Jonathan McKinsey, a New York Times executive, shot him dead on Sept. 26 in California.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Just the News

  2. Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Far Right
    Just the News

  3. Chen’s defense attorney says McKinsey had threatened to hire someone to kill her, and that she feared for her life.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    The Washington Times
    Far Right
    Just the News

  4. Chen’s defense attorney describes the shooting as spontaneous rather than premeditated.

    One outletJust the News· Far Right

  5. Prosecutors say the shooting happened during a court-supervised visit with McKinsey’s children.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  6. Chen’s defense attorney says Candice Jang, McKinsey’s former wife, is not connected to the shooting, though she is technically under investigation.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • The killing was premeditated.

    Prosecutors charged first-degree murder, which Just the News notes implies a willful and premeditated attack. Chen’s defense attorney says the shooting was spontaneous, not premeditated.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that prosecutors have charged Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang with murdering Jonathan McKinsey, and that they pleaded not guilty. The left-side report frames it as a court appearance, while right-side outlets lead with the defense claim that McKinsey threatened the couple.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    NBC’s headline centers on the court appearance and the murder charge, describing the defendants as an elderly couple and the victim by his job as a New York Times executive.

    Elderly couple pleads not guilty to murdering son-in-law, a NYT executive, at local park
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

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

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Headlines lead with the defense claim that the victim threatened the in-laws and often add his transgender identity; Far Right Just the News frames the claim as the attorney’s.

    In-laws charged with killing New York Times exec said he threatened to send a hit man after them
    The Washington TimesRightAll 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.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right3

    potentially explosive twistexecutedallegedly executed

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    potentially explosive twistMore neutral: new claim

    Describes the attorney’s claim in dramatic terms rather than reporting it as a claim.

    But their defense attorney has now revealed a potentially explosive twist in the case, claiming McKinsey previously hired a gunman to take out Chen,…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    executedMore neutral: killed

    “Executed” implies a deliberate, formal killing, a conclusion the charges have not reached.

    …Times exec hired ‘hitman’ to ‘get rid’ of his mother-in-law before she allegedly executed him: attorney

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    allegedly executedMore neutral: allegedly killed

    Execution is a loaded word for a shooting; the outlet’s own description of the incident is a murder charge, so “killed” is the plainer term.

    New details revealed about day in-laws allegedly executed trans NYT exec in NorCal

    Used byNew York Post (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 not-guilty plea in court
  • the special circumstance of lying in wait
  • the victim’s role as a New York Times executive
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • NBC NewsLeft

    Elderly couple pleads not guilty to murdering son-in-law, a NYT executive, at local park

    The elderly couple accused of killing their son-in-law, New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with a special circumstance of lying in wait, a defense attorney said Monday.

    Read at NBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

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

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • defense claim the victim threatened the in-laws
  • the victim’s transgender identity
  • the custody battle and divorce

Leaves out

  • the lying-in-wait special circumstance charge

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

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

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

    18 hr 40 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 12:17 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 19, 5:36 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 19, 5:36 PM EDT
  2. The Washington TimesRightOct 20, 7:24 AM EDT
  3. NBC NewsLeftOct 20, 12:17 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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