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Media Under Review 

 

October 29, 2002

  Publisher:                 Anchorage Daily News

  Reporters:             Liz Ruskin & Don Hunter

  Titles :                   Murkowski has fought long, hard battle for Alaska

                                      Ulmer's career covers gamut of state government

Ulmer’s “accomplishment piece,” side-by-side with Murkowski’s “accomplishment piece,” on Sunday, October 27th, in the Anchorage Daily News, represents a bias toward Ulmer against Murkowski when comparing and contrasting source comments and rebuttals by the candidates.  This analysis doesn’t even include counting the negative comments inserted by the reporter, which are weighted against Murkowski.

It appears that the assignment to the two reporters was to each do a story on the lifetime accomplishments of the democratic and republican candidates for Governor, Murkowski and Ulmer.  Don Hunter’s article on Ulmer was a positive, upbeat, and complimentary article and if it stood alone would be celebrated as a job well done.    However, the article by Ruskin at its side pushed the Ulmer article into being labeled as biased.

An attempt was made by the Media Research Center of Alaska to include the Anchorage Daily News’ comments about why they published these articles as they did, hoping that it was an oversight or their part.  This was considered relevant to check out due to their fair and balanced coverage last week on Ulmer’s and Murkowski’s views regarding subsistence.  However, Pat Dougherty, Senior VP & Editor, insisted that the MRCA’s and this author’s opinion were just that, “our opinion,” filtered through our own agendas and therefore dismissed any validity to our claim.

Below is a technical analysis of the article, measuring how many column inches are devoted to a source’s comment and rated either positive or negative with a rating for the rebuttal by the candidate that would balance out the negative comment.  As you can see, Ulmer had far more positive source comments and positive rebuttals than Murkowski.  To compare and contrast the article yourself, you are advised to have the articles in front of you.

Content analysis of 10/27/02 Anchorage Daily News articles on Fran Ulmer and Frank Murkowski

These articles were prominently advanced billed by the ADN on 10/26/02 (masthead B Section):  


WHO'LL BE OUR NEXT GOVERNOR? 
 
Will it be Sen. Frank Murkowski or Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer?  We take extensive looks at the backgrounds and politics of the two major candidates in side-by-side profiles.
  

Sunday's front Page.


Political Pros  

ULMER'S CAREER COVERS GAMUT OF STATE GOVERNMENT
By Don Hunter
MURKOWSKI HAS FOUGHT LONG, HARD BATTLE FOR ALASKA  
By Liz Ruskin 
ULMER
column inches
MURKOWSKI
column inches
66.6 total column inches PRO ANTI 67.4 total column inches PRO ANTI

+ Scott Foster/Av Gross
+ Richard Poor/Peter Freer


- Randy Phillips/Terry Martin
     REBUT: Ulmer
- Terry Martin
     REBUT: Ulmer
- "Soft Money Group" SAFE
     REBUT: Ulmer
- Gail Phillips
     REBUT: Ulmer
- Randy Phillips
     REBUT: Ulmer
+ Red Boucher
     REBUT: Gail Phillips
+Av Gross
9.5
4.0















3.4
(1.7)
2.6 
2.2

(2.6)
1.3
(1.6)

0.8
(1.7)
0.5
(1.5)
0.6
(0.7)




[lots of petty nit picking & harassment against Murkowski; see below*]
NR = Not Rated
 
 
 
 
 
- ADN (Ruskin)
REBUT: Charlie Cole
- Jim Waltman
REBUT: no quotes from supporters 
- Jim Waltman
REBUT: Ted Stevens
  NR


 

0.7
(0.5)
1.5
 

1.3
(1.7)

Subtotals 17.8   (2.7) Subtotals   -  1.3  
NET TOTAL FOR ARTICLE 20.5 NET TOTAL FOR ARTICLE   (1.3)  


PRO ULMER:
  21.8  NET GRAND TOTAL BOTH ARTICLES

HOW FAIR?  BALANCED OR BIASED?  A balanced, fair treatment would have net column inch totals near zero.

* EXAMPLES OF RUSKIN NITPICKING AGAINST MURKOWSKI

RUSKIN (ADN): Little comes easily for him, in part because he often is unwilling to change positions, reads part of the entry on him in the Politics in America almanac.    [MRCA COMMENT: WAS THERE ANY ATTEMPT BY RUSKIN TO OBTAIN COMMENT OR REBUTTAL?  IT'S ENTIRELY LIKELY THAT MANY WOULD FIND A POLITICIAN THAT STICKS TO PRINCIPLES DESIRABLE]

RUSKIN (ADN):  [Murkowski] Helped encourage Federal Express to locate and expand at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.  Of course, it's Alaska's other senator for whom that airport is named.  [MRCA COMMENT: THIS IS AN UNNECESSARY PUT DOWN.  WHAT IS SHE SAYING, THAT MURKOWSKI's EFFORTS TO GET FEDERAL EXPRESS AREN'T WORTHWHILE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T GET THE ANCHORAGE AIRPORT NAMED AFTER HIM?]

RUSKIN (ADN): When he finds a line he likes, he sticks with it.  "You and I do not move in an out of Washington, D.C., on hot air, although occasionally there is quite a bit of it here," he often said in arguing for more oil development.  A search of the Congressional Record shows he has repeated the "hot air" quip 15 times from the floor of the Senate in the past year and many more times in press conferences and hearings.  [MRCA COMMENT: POLITICIANS HAVE TO GIVE DOZENS, HUNDREDS OF SPEECHES TO MANY DIFFERENT AUDIENCES.  THAT MURKOWSKI, A POLITICIAN, WOULD REPEAT SIMILAR WORDS IN SPEECHES IS NOT NEWS UNLESS RUSKIN SEARCHED THE RECORD TO SEE IF FRAN ULMER REPEATED HERSELF LESS (OR MORE??).]

RUSKIN (ADN): For a while, it looked like a scandal was emerging that might explode on Murkowski's campaign.  The New York Times wrote a story. Mike Wallace and a team of "60 Minutes" researchers had come to investigate.  Then in October 1980, Bering Straits and Sitnasauk filed a lawsuit against the bank.  But nothing ever stuck on Murkowski, who was an ex-banker by the time the allegations unfolded.  [MRCA COMMENT:  "But nothing ever stuck on Murkowski..."  THIS IS WORDING NORMALLY USED ON A CRIMINAL, A PERSON WIDELY ASSUMED TO BE GUILTY.  UNFAIR TO APPLY IT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE.]

 

RUSKIN (ADN):  He tried to show that a lot of constituencies unions, seniors, Jews, women business owners also wanted drilling. He held a series of press conferences in front of the Capitol to show that they stood with him.  [MRCA COMMENT:  WHY THIS DEFEATIST WORDING ON MURKIWSKI's EFFORTS?  HE DID SHOW SUPPORT FROM THOSE CONSTITUENCIES.  USING THE SYMPATHETIC CONSTRUCTION OF DON HUNTER'S GLOWING PRAISE OF ULMER, RUSKIN WOULD HAVE WRITTEN SOMETHING LIKE, "HE REACHED OUT AND BROUGHT A LOT OF CONSTITUENCIES UNIONS, SENIORS, JEWS, WOMAN BUSINESS OWNERS TO CAPITAL PRESS CONFERENCES TO SHOW THEY SUPPORTED ALASKA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE IN ANWR".  "...stood with him" THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS ALL ABOUT SUPPORTING SOMETHING HE WAS DOING FOR HIMSELF RATHER THAN FOR THIS MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT OF ALASKA'S FUTURE.]

ADDITIONAL MRCA COMMENT

IN THE "BATTLING THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS" SECTION, WHY DID RUSKIN ONLY INTERVIEW A DEMOCRAT AND A WILDERNESS SOCIETY STAFFER?  THERE IS A HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWED WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWLEDGABLY EVALUATED MURKOWSKI'S EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND COPE WITH GROWING ENVIRONMENTALIST IMPACTS ON ALASKA'S ECONOMY.  AT A MINIMUM QUOTES FROM THE VOICE OF THE TIMES EDITORIALS ON THIS SUBJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN FAR MORE GERMANE.  THEN RUSKIN COULD GO TO THOSE SHE DID USE FOR REACTIONS, NOT TO PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY HOSTILE TO HIM FOR THE PRIME QUOTES.

_____________________________

 

Copyright © 2002.  All Rights Reserved.  

You may reprint or use the entire article as long as the reference box below  is included.

You may use this article for reference or lift ideas from it without using the reference box.

You may also use it to submit your complaints to ADN about their media coverage without using the box below.

 

 

The Media Research Center of Alaska is committed to identifying, reviewing, and reporting bias in the media that violates the media industry’s code of ethics, as it pertains to media in Alaska.  MRCA also educates its members and the general public in media ethics so that each person can become a critical thinker/evaluator when absorbing media coverage rather than swallowing what is written, hook, line, and sinker.  You can contact the Center at: <ombudsman@mediaresearchak.org> or visit the website at:  <http://mediaresearchak.org>

 

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