Yesterday, I set down the standard for the Argus Leader's coverage of Tom Daschle's illegal attack phone calls. I'm happy to report that, in my estimation, Mike Madden's story headlined "Daschle telephone campaign broke law" has met the standard. The standard to compare the story to was a February 11 negative story on John Thune alleging that Thune had violated campaign laws. That story ran on the front page (1A) of the Argus Leader, contained 922 words, and used variations of the phrase "Thune broke the law" three times.
Madden's story today was published on page 1A of the AL. - Check
Madden's story today had much fewer than 922 words, but it didn't take many words to explain the Daschle violation, so it's understandable why there were fewer words. - Check
Madden's story today contained three variations of the phrase "Daschle broke the law." - Check
Madden's story meets the standard, and that's all that should be expected from the Argus Leader. I advocate hard-nosed coverage of both campaigns in this year's Senate race. Today's story by Madden is an encouraging sign that the AL is attempting to do so. Kudos to Mike Madden and the Argus Leader.
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