Media Matters: Rebutting the Myth of the "Liberal" South Dakota Press
Media Matters has given me permission to reprint their findings on the abysmal lack of progressive voices in South Dakota newspapers, including that supposed bastion of liberalism, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
With thanks to MM’s Justin Cole, here it is:
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| Black and White and Re(a)d All Over SOUTH DAKOTA
View the Full Report |
When it comes to nationally syndicated columnists, South Dakota’s daily newspapers are dominated by conservatives, leaving progressive voices behind.
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SOUTH DAKOTA MEDIA: Daily Newspapers at a Glance
- In South Dakota, there are 11 daily newspapers with a total circulation of 144,974.
- Conservative syndicated columnists appear a total of 30 times per week in South Dakota newspapers. Centrist columnists appear a total of seven times, while progressive columnists appear a total of 14 times. [1]
- Taking newspaper circulation into account, these columnists have the potential to reach South Dakota readers a total of 874,425 times each week.
SOUTH DAKOTA VOICE: Who Is Being Heard?
- Nationally syndicated conservative columnists account for 57 percent of the column impressions in South Dakota, while nationally syndicated progressive columnists account for only 26 percent of the column impressions. [2]
- Those conservative columnists reach South Dakota readers 266,108 more times than their progressive counterparts.
- The top nationally syndicated columnists published regularly in South Dakota consist of five conservatives, one centrist, and one progressive.
| Newspaper | State | Circulation | Conservatives* | Progressives* |
| Aberdeen American News | SD | 16,467 | 50% | 25% |
| Brookings Register | SD | 1,232 | 57% | 29% |
| Huron Plainsman | SD | 6,250 | 100% | 0% |
| Madison Daily Leader, The | SD | 2,181 | 0% | 0% |
| Mitchell Daily Republic , The | SD | 10,463 | 60% | 20% |
| Pierre Capital Journal | SD | 567 | 33% | 33% |
| Rapid City Journal | SD | 30,721 | 63% | 13% |
| Sioux Falls Argus Leader | SD | 56,379 | 50% | 33% |
| Spearfish/Lead/Deadwood Black Hills Pioneer | SD | 2,987 | 0% | 0% |
| Watertown Public Opinion | SD | 10,995 | 60% | 40% |
| Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan | SD | 6,733 | 50% | 50% |
* These data reflect only regular (at least once a week) conservative and progressive columnists, for the full report go to: www.mediamatters.org/op-ed and to view state-by-state or specific newspaper data go to: http://mediamatters.org/reports/oped/search
| Newspaper | State | Circulation | Occasional Conservatives** | Occasional Progressives** |
| Aberdeen American News | SD | 16,467 | 40% | 30% |
| Brookings Register | SD | 1,232 | 57% | 29% |
| Huron Plainsman | SD | 6,250 | 100% | 0% |
| Madison Daily Leader, The | SD | 2,181 | 0% | 0% |
| Mitchell Daily Republic , The | SD | 10,463 | 62% | 19% |
| Pierre Capital Journal | SD | 567 | 33% | 33% |
| Rapid City Journal | SD | 30,721 | 63% | 13% |
| Sioux Falls Argus Leader | SD | 56,379 | 50% | 32% |
| Spearfish/Lead/Deadwood Black Hills Pioneer | SD | 2,987 | 75% | 25% |
| Watertown Public Opinion | SD | 10,995 | 60% | 40% |
| Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan | SD | 6,733 | 47% | 53% |
* These data reflect only occasional (at least once a month but less than once a week) conservative and progressive columnists, for the full report go to: www.mediamatters.org/op-ed and to view state-by-state or specific newspaper data go to: http://mediamatters.org/reports/oped/search
[1] These figures account for columnists appearing in multiple papers; if a particular columnist is in five separate papers, he or she is counted in these figures five times.
[2] Similar to the advertising term “ad impressions,” “column impressions” counts the number of copies of each column that appears in print.
Todd Epp
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Reader Comments (23)
During the invasion of Normandy, troops were literally dumped into the ocean with near certainty of drowning because some naval commander did not want his ships and himself close enough to shore to be in any danger.
Paratroopers were dropped in swamps miles from targets. Military assumptions about shore conditions were wrong. Hitler assumed that the invasion would come at low tide so all kinds of obstacles were on the shore. Allied brass thought they could come in at high tide over that with duck invasion craft etc. Many of them never made it. Omaha beach was apparently more like a shooting gallery for the Germans.
Ellis wants a press to be unbiased in that it has 50% of its eyes open and 50% closed. His position is a know-nothing position that demeans the meaning and purpose of a free press.
U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier of Rapid City prevented the law from taking effect while she decided whether it was constitutional. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal last month overruled her order and sent the case back to her for a trial. A date has not been set.The 2005 law requires doctors to tell women that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being. Women also would have to be told they have a right to continue a pregnancy and that abortion may cause them psychological harm, including thoughts of suicide.
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smithsand
South Dakota Treatment Centers