Media reacts to Trump’s lawsuit over flawed Iowa poll: Bias Breakdown

[Karah]

HEY! IT’S KARAH! WELCOME TO THE DEBUT OF BIAS BREAKDOWN. BEFORE WE GET INTO TODAY’S STORY – I WANT TO TAKE JUST A QUICK MINUTE TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THIS PODCAST –

SINCE I’M HOPING YOU’RE GOING TO LIKE IT AND STICK AROUND WITH US!

WE’RE GOING TO START ON A LITTLE BIT OF A SMALLER SCALE – BUT DEPENDING ON THE FEEDBACK WE GET FROM YOU – I’M HOPING TO EVENTUALLY EXPAND INTO LONGER EPISODES.

LIKE I SAID, I’M KARAH, I’M YOUR HOST. OF COURSE ON OUR FIRST EPISODE I AM FIGHTING A LITTLE COLD SO JUST BARE WITH ME – BUT I AM HERE!

I’M FROM HOUSTON TEXAS BUT HAVE SINCE MOVED TO THE MIDWEST AND I’M STILL ADJUSTING TO THESE WINTERS! I HAVE A SMALL DOG – I LOVE FOOTBALL, FAMILY, AND I LIVE OFF COFFEE – WHICH YOU KINDA HAVE TO WHEN YOU WORK IN NEWS.

I’VE WORKED FOR NBC, FOX, AND CBS AFFILIATES IN TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA. 

THE THING IS – THESE BIG NETWORKS HAVE A HUB OF NATIONAL STORIES THAT IS FED DOWN TO THE LOCAL LEVEL. SO NEWS ANCHORS GET THE SAME NEWS SCRIPTS FROM THE TOP – WHICH EXPLAINS WHY YOU SOMETIMES SEE THOSE COMPILATION VIDEOS OF NEWS ANCHORS ALL READING FROM THE SAME SCRIPT.

I WANTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

FOR MYSELF AS A JOURNALIST – AND FOR THE NEWS CONSUMER LIKE YOURSELF –

YOU DESERVE BETTER FROM OUR INDUSTRY.

THAT’S WHY I JOINED STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS A FEW YEARS AGO.

WE’RE UNAFFILIATED WITH THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA.

THE WORDS THAT YOU’LL HEAR COME OUT OF MY MOUTH ON THIS PODCAST –

ARE MY OWN.

BUT THIS PODCAST – IT’S NOT MINE. IT’S YOURS.

I’VE GOT A TEAM OF GOOD AND TALENTED PEOPLE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THIS PODCAST HAPPEN  –

AND WE’RE NOT HERE TO TELL YOU HOW **WE FEEL – OR HOW YOU **SHOULD FEEL – ABOUT CURRENT EVENTS.

JOURNALISM IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PUBLIC SERVICE.

HELPFUL. TRUTHFUL. AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

AS YOU’LL SEE ON THIS PODCAST –

MANY NEWS OUTLETS NOWADAYS SPIN FACTS WITH POLITICAL OPINION AND BIAS.

THE SAME NEWS STORY CAN BE TOLD IN TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAYS DEPENDING ON 

WHETHER THE NEWS OUTLET HAS A LEFT OR RIGHT POLITICAL LEAN.

AND IT’S NOT US PUTTING THAT LABEL ON THESE NEWS OUTLETS.

THERE ARE MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUPS LIKE “ALL SIDES” AND “AD FONTES” WHO “GRADE” NEWS OUTLETS IF YOU WILL.

THEY SAMPLE THEIR REPORTS, CHECKING FOR BIASES – AND FROM THERE, GIVE EACH OUTLET A LEFT, RIGHT, OR CENTER RATING. 

STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – HAS BEEN RATED DOWN THE CENTER –

AND WE ARE LOOKING TO CONTINUE TO EARN THAT RATING WITH OUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.

SO LET’S GET TO IT.

THE TOPIC FOR EPISODE ONE….TRUMP IS SUING IOWA POLLSTER “ANN SELZER”.

THE LAWSUIT IS BEING FRAMED DIFFERENTLY BY LEFT AND RIGHT MEDIA.

IS IT A CASE OF “BRAZEN ELECTION INTERFERENCE” OR IS IT THE START OF A “REVENGE CAMPAIGN?”

THAT’S THE STORY IN TODAY’S BIAS BREAKDOWN.

POLITICAL POLLSTER ANN SELZER PUBLISHED A POLL FOR THE DES MOINES REGISTER JUST DAYS BEFORE ELECTION DAY.

IT SHOWED KAMALA HARRIS **WINNING DEEP-RED IOWA – BEATING TRUMP BY THREE POINTS.

THE POLL SENT SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE MEDIA.

FORBES REPORTED AT THE TIME “OUTLIER POLL SHOWING HARRIS WINNING IOWA COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR TRUMP.”

BLOOMBERG’S HEADLINE READ  “SHOCK POLL SHOWING HARRIS LEADING IN IOWA ENERGIZES STATE DEMOCRATS”

AND AFTER NEWS OF THE POLL SHOWING TRUMP LOSING A STATE THAT IS RELIABLY REPUBLICAN –

ELECTION BETTING ODDS FOR TRUMP “PLUMMETTED” – AS REPORTED BY THE DAILY BEAST AND OTHERS AT THE TIME.

ACCORDING TO POLLING ANALYSIS GROUP “5-38” –

ANN SELZER WAS DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE MOST ACCURATE AND “TOP POLITICAL POLLSTERS.” 

SO WHILE THE POLL WAS SEEN AS A “SHOCK” – THERE WAS ALSO A LAYER OF “CREDIBILITY” TO IT SINCE IT HAD SELZER’S NAME ON IT.

BUT COME ELECTION DAY –

THE POLL PREDICTION – WAS WAY OFF.

TRUMP WON IOWA BY ABOUT 13 PERCENTAGE POINTS –

MEANING SELZER’S POLL WAS OFF BY 16 POINTS.

TRUMP ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK – HE IS SUING SELZER AND THE DES MOINES REGISTER WHO PUBLISHED THE POLL.

IT’S NOT A DEFAMATION SUIT – BUT TRUMP’S TEAM SAYS SELZER AND THE PAPER VIOLATED THE “IOWA CONSUMER FRAUD ACT” –

A LAW THAT PROHIBTS DECEPTION WHEN ADVERTISING OR SELLING PRODUCTS.  

“I’m doing this not because I feel i have an obligation to. I’m going to bring one against the people in iowa, they’re newspaper. They had a very good pollster who got me right all of the time. And then just before the election said i was going to lose and it became the biggest story all over the world.” 

HERE’S SOME HEADLINES OF THE NEWS COVERAGE OVER THE LAWSUIT FROM NEWS OUTLETS WITH A RIGHT POLITICAL BIAS.

FOX NEWS – “Trump sues Des Moines Register, top pollster for ‘brazen election interference,’ fraud over Harris poll.”

BREITBART – “Trump to Sue Iowa Pollster Ann Selzer for ‘Election Interference’ After Wildly Inaccurate Poll.”

THE DAILY WIRE – “‘ELECTION-INTERFERING FICTION’: TRUMP SUES IOWA POLLSTER, PUBLISHER FOR POLL RELEASED NOVEMBER 2ND”

NEWS OUTLETS WITH A LEFT POLITICAL BIAS –

FRAMED THE STORY THIS WAY.

CNN – “Emboldened by ABC settlement, Trump threatens more lawsuits against the press”

THE DAILY BEAST – “Trump Steps Up Revenge Tour on Media With New Threats to Sue.”

VANITY FAIR “Donald Trump apparently thinks bad polling is illegal.”

IN THEIR COVERAGE OF THE NEWLY FILED LAWSUIT –

LEFT-LEANING MEDIA LARGELY EMPHASIZED A BIGGER PICTURE OF “TRUMP AGAINST THE MEDIA” 

WHILE RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA LARGELY EMPHASIZED “THE MEDIA AGAINST TRUMP.”

HERE’S HOW LEFT LEANING CNN STARTED THEIR REPORT.

“President-elect Donald Trump had not been terribly successful in suing media organizations until this weekend when ABC News agreed to settle a closely-watched defamation case he brought against the network to the tune of $16 million.

Now, Trump is expanding his threats of legal action against the news media as he prepares to move back into the White House, stating he wants to “straighten out the press.”

On Monday, Trump said he has a new target: The Des-Moines Register newspaper.”

IN CONTRAST – HERE’S HOW RIGHT LEANING “THE DAILY WIRE” STARTED THEIR REPORT ON THE LAWSUIT.

“An egregiously wrong Des Moines Register poll by formerly well-respected pollster J. Ann Selzer published three days before the presidential election has catalyzed President-elect Donald Trump to say enough is enough — and sue them.

On November 2, the Register published Selzer’s poll, which came as a shock, as it showed Vice-President Kamala Harris with a three-point lead over Trump in a state Trump wound up winning by over 13 points. Within days after the election, Selzer abruptly retired.”

THE DIRECTION OF THE STORY THEN TAKES A DIFFERENT TURN IF YOU WERE TO READ THE REPORTS FROM LEFT OR RIGHT NEWS OUTLETS.

THE DAILY BEAST HOMED IN ON TRUMP’S OTHER LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST NEWS OUTLETS.

“The suit against Selzer and the Register…would be another in Trump’s long list of lawsuits against journalists and the media. He currently has a lawsuit pending against CBS’ 60 Minutes, which he claims favorably edited Harris’ answers.Trump is also suing famed journalist Bob Woodward for allegedly misquoting him and selling interview tapes for his book “The Trump Tapes”, as well as the Pulitzer committee for giving an award to journalists reporting on Russian election interference in 2016.

Trump’s vengeance against the media is a change of heart from just last week, when he told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that his “retribution will be through success.”

MEANWHILE – THE BULK OF FOX NEWS’ ARTICLE FOCUSED ON THE CONTENT WITHIN THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SELZER.

“The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” the lawsuit states, adding that “defendants and their cohorts in the Democrat Party hoped that the Harris Poll would create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris in the final week of the 2024 Presidential Election.”

“As Selzer knows, this type of manipulation creates a narrative of inevitability for Democrat candidates, increases enthusiasm among Democrats, compels Republicans to divert campaign time and money to areas in which they are ahead, and deceives the public into believing that Democrat candidates are performing better than they really are.” 

ADDING TO THE CONTRAST IN COVERAGE BETWEEN LEFT AND RIGHT MEDIA –

THE DAILY BEAST DIDN’T INCLUDE ANY QUOTES FROM THE LAWSUIT FILED BY TRUMP.

AND LIKEWISE FOX NEWS DIDN’T MAKE MENTION OF TRUMP’S CURRENT LEGAL BATTLES AGAINST 60 MINUTES OR BOB WOODWARD.

THE CONTRAST IN HOW THIS STORY WAS COVERED BY LEFT AND RIGHT MEDIA –

ALSO PLAYED OUT IN SOME OF THE BROADCASTS ON FOX AND CNN.

FOX CALLING IT A “SUPPRESSION POLL” AND CNN CALLING THE LAWSUIT A WAY TO SUPPRESS BAD PRESS.

“Even pollsters are on notice. Ann Selzer from the des moines register that put out a suppression poll on the eve of the election that has harris up three she lost iowa by 13 – she might have to be held accountable.”

“this seems like a legal long shot, but often when trump files lawsuits, the goal is not necessarily to win, its to make his opponents suffer.

“Talking about straightening out the press? That’s a euphemism for trying to tone down any and all critical coverage. We know his first term he deriding so called fake news, calling real news, fake, now he’s taking actions, not just words, but actions.”  

ANN SELZER AND THE DES MOINES REGISTER RESPONDED TO QUESTIONS ABOUT LEGAL ACTION TAKEN AGAINST THEM.

THE NEWSPAPER’S SPOKESPERSON SAYING –

“We stand by our reporting on the matter and believe a lawsuit would be without merit.”

AND SELZER SAYING “The idea that I intentionally set up to deliver this response, when I’ve never done that before – I’ve had plenty of opportunity to do it. It’s not my ethic. But to suggest without a single shred of evidence that I was in cahoots with somebody, that I was being paid by somebody, it’s hard to pay too much attention to it except that they are accusing me of a crime.” 

IN SUMMARY –

YOU’VE GOT A POLL THAT ALL SIDES AGREE MISSED THE MARK DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.

TRUMP BELIEVES IT WAS ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND HAS SUED.

THE POLLSTER HERSELF AND THE NEWSPAPER SAY THEY DID NOTHING ILLEGAL WHEN THEY PUBLISHED THE POLL.

RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA OUTLETS ARE LARGELY FOCUSING IN ON HOW FLAWED THE POLL WAS AND CITING TRUMP’S CLAIMS OF ELECTION INTERFERENCE.

WHILE LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS ARE LARGELY FOCUSING ON THIS SUIT BEING PART OF A BROADER REVENGE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MEDIA.

YOU’VE GOT THE FACTS OF THE CASE.

PERSPECTIVES FROM BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT.

AND THAT’S YOUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.

HEY BEFORE WE ROLL THE CLOSE HERE –

DO ME A FAVOR – AND LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS.

LIKE I SAID AT THE TOP – WE’RE GOING TO START SMALL HERE – BUT DEPENDING ON THE FEEDBACK WE GET FROM YOU – I’M HOPING TO EXPAND INTO LONGER EPISODES.

I WANT THIS NEWS FORUM TO FEEL DIFFERENT.

REACH OUT. THIS ISN’T JUST ME TELLING YOU THE NEWS. I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU TOO.

IF YOU MADE IT TO THE END OF THE EPISODE HERE –

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.

REMEMBER YOU CAN FIND US ON ANY PLATFORM WHERE YOU LISTEN TO YOUR PODCASTS – SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC – YOU NAME IT.

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP AND SET UP PUSH NOTIFICATIONS SO YOU CAN GET ALERTED FOR OUR NEXT BIAS BREAKDOWN.

THANKS AGAIN AND I’LL SEE YOU SOON FOR EPISODE 2.

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