DVT says it's unclear what standard of judgment I have in mind for concluding that David Kranz, the Argus Leader political reporter known as the dean of South Dakota political reporters, is too closely associated with Democratic figures past and present to report objectively and credibly on the 2004 Senate race in South Dakota. DVT suggests a "reasonableness" standard: whether Kranz's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. This reasonableness standard is henceforth adopted. I would argue, in view of the careful documentation of Kranz's bias by myself (link is to Kranz Watch archive) and others, that this standard has been met.
We know about Kranz's collaboration with Daschle on a mock Democratic Convention while both were in college in 1968; Daschle organized the convention, and Kranz wrote a purportedly unbiased report for the college newspaper on Daschle's involvement in organizing the convention, without disclosing his affiliation with Daschle. In 1976, Kranz wrote a piece for the Mitchell Daily Republic fondly recalling the convention. In 1986, then lieutenant governor Lowell Hansen wrote a guest editorial for the Argus Leader excoriating Kranz's biased coverage of the governor's race that year. Roll Call indicated that the AL's hysterical and vituperative bias in the 1990 Senate race was instigated by then managing editor David Kranz. And of course, over the past year, Kranz's biased reporting has been documented through the "Kranz Watch" feature on this blog. All of these instances described above indicate that the reasonableness standard has been met. Kranz's impartiality can reasonably be questioned.
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