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Some CBS News staff resist Bari Weiss’s push to cover Alaska ballot report

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Coverage spectrum

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

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

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The New York Times reported that staff for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign and allies helped recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska. Peltola’s campaign denies involvement. According to insiders cited by Fox News, some CBS News staff pushed back at a Thursday morning editorial meeting on editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s push to cover the report, and several said such tactics are common in politics. The Justice Department has reportedly started investigating the ballot confusion, and Alaska’s governor has ordered an 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. Some CBS News staff pushed back at a Thursday morning editorial meeting on editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s push to cover the New York Times report, according to insiders cited by Fox News.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Far Right
    Fox News, Townhall

  2. The New York Times reported that staff for Mary Peltola’s campaign and allies helped recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Far Right
    Fox News, Townhall

  3. Peltola’s campaign denies involvement, and Peltola called the report a distraction.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

  4. The Justice Department has reportedly started investigating the Alaska ballot confusion.

    One outletTownhall· Far Right

  5. Alaska’s governor has ordered an investigation after the New York Times report.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

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

  • Democratic-linked staff or allies recruited a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to split votes in the Alaska Senate race.

    The New York Times reports this, as cited by Fox News, Raw Story and Townhall. Peltola’s campaign denies involvement and Peltola called the report a distraction. A former Peltola campaign manager said she was “definitely aware” but not directly involved, and a Democratic strategist on MS NOW said such things happen all the time.

  • The Alaska matter is a scandal.

    Fox reports that Weiss called it a scandal, while many staff on the call viewed it as routine politics that Republicans also practice.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Left and right outlets all report that some CBS News staff pushed back against editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over coverage of a New York Times report on an Alaska ballot scheme. The left emphasizes a staff revolt against a MAGA-friendly boss, while the right emphasizes internal resistance to chasing a Democratic scandal.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Raw Story, rated Far Left and the only left outlet here, casts Weiss as a MAGA-friendly boss and the staff response as a revolt.

    CBS News Sensational language“staff revolt”The word presents a disagreement raised at one meeting as a revolt, which exaggerates its scale.More neutral: staff pushbackDisagree with this highlight? after Loaded modifier“MAGA-friendly boss”The label places Weiss in a political camp that is not part of the reported event.More neutral: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari WeissDisagree with this highlight? Loaded verb“demands coverage”The verb presents an editor’s request as an order.More neutral: asks for coverage ofDisagree with this highlight? of Alaska 'scandal'
    Raw StoryFar LeftAll 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 centre on CBS staff resisting editor Bari Weiss’s push to cover the Alaska ballot story, with both outlets rated Far Right and no mainstream right outlet present.

    Bari Weiss faced 'significant resistance' from CBS News staffers about Alaska ballot scandal, insiders say
    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

    staff revoltMAGA-friendly bossdemands coverage

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right3

    bombshelldecoyPush to Chase

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    bombshellMore neutral: New York Times report

    The intensifier describes the report’s impact with drama rather than stating its content.

    …on the call, several CBS News staffers pushed back at Weiss' enthusiasm over the bombshell New York Times report alleging Democrats schemed to find a Dan Sullivan to run…

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    staff revoltMore neutral: staff pushback

    The word presents a disagreement raised at one meeting as a revolt, which exaggerates its scale.

    CBS News staff revolt after MAGA-friendly boss demands coverage of Alaska 'scandal'

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    MAGA-friendly bossMore neutral: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss

    The label places Weiss in a political camp that is not part of the reported event.

    CBS News staff revolt after MAGA-friendly boss demands coverage of Alaska 'scandal'

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    demands coverageMore neutral: asks for coverage of

    The verb presents an editor’s request as an order.

    CBS News staff revolt after MAGA-friendly boss demands coverage of Alaska 'scandal'

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    decoyMore neutral: second candidate named Dan Sullivan

    The label treats the candidate as a plant before the alleged scheme has been established.

    …CBS staffers downplayed a New York Times report detailing how Democrats placed a decoy “Dan Sullivan” on the ballot to confuse voters and give Democrat candidate Mary…

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Push to ChaseMore neutral: push for coverage of

    The verb suggests an aggressive hunt, while the reported request was for reporting on the story.

    CBS Staffers Reportedly Resist Weiss’s Push to Chase Alaska Ballot Story

    Used byTownhall (Far 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

  • staff revolt against Weiss
  • Weiss as a MAGA-friendly boss
  • Weiss demanding scandal coverage
  • Peltola campaign denial
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    CBS News Sensational language“staff revolt”The word presents a disagreement raised at one meeting as a revolt, which exaggerates its scale.More neutral: staff pushbackDisagree with this highlight? after Loaded modifier“MAGA-friendly boss”The label places Weiss in a political camp that is not part of the reported event.More neutral: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari WeissDisagree with this highlight? Loaded verb“demands coverage”The verb presents an editor’s request as an order.More neutral: asks for coverage ofDisagree with this highlight? of Alaska 'scandal'

    CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss met “significant resistance” from some staff at Thursday’s morning editorial meeting about a New York Times report on Alaska’s Senate race, insiders told Fox News Digital. Weiss called the matter a “scandal,” according to the Fox account. …

    Read at Raw Story (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

  • CBS staff resistance to Weiss
  • Democratic scheme alleged by the New York Times
  • Margaret Brennan objecting to the story

Leaves out

  • Peltola campaign denial of involvement

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

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • TownhallFar Right

    CBS Staffers Reportedly Resist Weiss’s Loaded verb“Push to Chase”The verb suggests an aggressive hunt, while the reported request was for reporting on the story.More neutral: push for coverage ofDisagree with this highlight? Alaska Ballot Story

    CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan reportedly challenged CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss when Weiss asked reporters to investigate the scandal of Alaska’s ballot controversy.

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

    Bari Weiss faced 'significant resistance' from CBS News staffers about Alaska ballot scandal, insiders say

    CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss faced resistance among staff at a meeting when talking about the New York Times' report on the Alaska ballot scandal.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by New York Post. It counts once.

  • New York PostRightFox News report

    Bari Weiss faced ‘significant resistance’ from CBS News on the ‘Decoy Dan’ scandal: insiders say

    New York Post published a report that is shown in full at Fox News. The headline is the one New York Post gave it.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

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

    2 hr 13 min later

    Its first report, Oct 29, 6:04 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Fox News, Oct 29, 3:51 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Fox NewsFar RightOct 29, 3:51 PM EDT
  2. Raw StoryFar LeftOct 29, 6:04 PM EDT
  3. TownhallFar RightOct 29, 8:30 PM EDT
  4. New York PostRightOct 29, 9:15 PM EDT

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

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