ED SCHULTZ WATCH: The High Plains Reader, a Fargo, ND alternative weekly, has a cover story on Ed Schultz, the liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh. Er, that is, it's more of a transcript of an interview than a story. Interesting excerpt:

HPR: How do people here hear you in your new program?

ES: XM Satellite on the talk channel. They've got over two million subscribers around the country. They're going to be announcing here probably the first of January, maybe a little after that, how many stations we're going to launch on. Syndication's tough. It takes time. Rush Limbaugh launched on two stations and he was on two stations for a long time. Then he got on three, then four. When it takes off, it takes off. What we've got to do is get into a big market. Get on a station somewhere, knock down some ratings, do some good industry advertising, get some people believing, and then grow it from there. We'll see where it goes.

CNN has a report headlined "Thune edges closer to challenging Daschle."

As the new year begins, it's worth reviewing some of the criticism in the past year of the Argus Leader's biased political reporting.

Since the pattern of liberal bias at the Argus Leader goes back a number of years, it was necessary to do some historical research to determine how far back the pattern went, and how far-reaching it was. This research uncovered, among other things, two stories written in 1990. One story appeared in Roll Call, which described the AL's bias as "hysterical." The other story appeared in a post election-day roundup by the New York Times, which labeled the AL's bias "vituperative." David Kranz, now the "dean of South Dakota political reporters" was the AL's managing editor at the time. I commented on this research last May. Interestingly, Senator Larry Pressler, the subject of the AL's vituperative and hysterical bias in the 1990 race, wrote in a 1999 letter to the editor of the AL, published on June 19, that "David Kranz is my longtime nemesis, but I consider him a friend. He is a good writer, but intellectually flawed in that he lets his biases show through."

In response to accusations of bias in the AL by a prospective Senate candidate, Talon News launched an investigation of the AL that yielded over a half-dozen stories, which you can find chronologically linked on the right side of this blog. One of the more poignant stories is headlined "South Dakota Reporter Key to Daschle Strategy" which discusses an article written for Campaigns and Elections magazine by Karl Struble, a media consultant for Tom Daschle, and how it relates to bias at the AL.

As this blog gained more readers due to links from Instapundit, Powerline, etc., an academic named Andrew Clem, originally from South Dakota and now a professor at James Madison University, stumbled upon SDP and commented on his own blog that "we prairie folk used to call it, the 'Argus Liar.'" John Hinderaker at the Powerline blog, who is originally from South Dakota, weighed in on the bias of the AL in general and David Kranz in particular.

Throughout the year, it has been observed that the AL and particularly Kranz often engage in the bias of omission. What is NOT reported is just as important as what IS reported. The AL usually ignores or downplays stories that reflect negatively on Tom Daschle, and highlight stories that reflect positively on Tom Daschle. One example is the coverage (or more accurately, non-coverage) of Tom Daschle's polling and focus-grouping activities last spring. Even ABC's "The Note" took notice of Kranz's willful refusal to report the story.

Finally, Congressman Bill Janklow, on trial for his role in the death of motorcyclist Randy Scott, criticized the "cunning" bias of the AL's leadership.

Through the past year, as I have observed and commented on the reporting of the Argus Leader and its star political reporter, much has been learned and much is open to question. Through systematic inquiry, we've been able to discover that the past is littered with criticism of the AL's bias. Much of it has been documented on this blog, and any glance through the archives will bear out that much of this criticism is warranted. As we begin a new year, an election year, with potentially one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country right here in South Dakota, will we see the same pattern of bias at the AL emerge as it has in the past? Will we see the AL trying to influence voters rather than report the news to voters? The smart money says that we will.

As the year progresses, SDP will continue to observe and comment on the reporting of the Argus Leader. Thanks to all of my readers for a great 2003. When I started this blog a year ago, I had no idea it would take off like it has. It began with a readership of about two or three of my friends, and these days there's more like 200 readers a day. I started on a whim, mostly because I was tired of reading the biased political reporting of the AL, and wanted to do something about it. Now that we've got their attention, it's time to take it to the next level. Here's to a wild ride in 2004!

DASCHLE LEADERSHIP IN JEOPARDY?: The Boston Globe carries a story today headlined "Minority party eyes a boost in discipline; Democrats urged to stand firmer" which has more rumblings that the Democratic rank-and-file are dissatisfied with Tom Daschle's leadership. Excerpt:

Daschle, facing a potentially tough reelection campaign in South Dakota, has been reluctant to alienate any in-state supporters, some of whom would benefit from the energy bill. While there is no official challenger to Daschle's leadership, some in the party worry that he's been more of a manager than a leader.

When Congress returns in late January, Republicans will try to muscle through an obscene omnibus appropriations bill that they wrote in a backroom to reward their supporters. Among other outrages, it would end overtime pay for 8 million American workers and gut reasonable restrictions on media ownership agreed to, over White House objections, by both the House and the Senate.

ED SCHULTZ WATCH: The New York Times recently carried a story about what Tom Daschle labels the Republican "infrastructure of attack," a story you can access HERE. Stories like these make Tom Daschle seethe. Of course, it shouldn't be forgotten that NPR has long been the Democratic "infrastructure of attack." In response, Tom Daschle has pitched the emergence of a liberal Rush Limbaugh, a man by the name of Ed Schultz, a radio talk-show host from Fargo, North Dakota. Ed Schultz's nationally broadcast show, syndicated by Democracy Radio, is set to begin January 5.

Today's edition of USA Today has a piece headlined "Freewheeling 'bloggers' are rewriting rules of journalism" which mentions GOPUSA, the parent company of Talon News.

UPDATE: Speaking of Talon News, Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, has a new piece headlined "Senate Dems Pressure DOJ on CIA Leak Probe." This report comes on the heels of a report in the Washington Post citing a Talon News interview of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife was allegedly outed as a CIA agent by the Bush administration.

Eugene Volokh skewers online polling. I wonder what Mr. Volokh and Julian Sanchez think about Tom Daschle recently citing the results of an online poll to make a point during debate on the Senate floor?

The Argus Leader's editorial board has put out editorials twice in the last 12 days (12/15 and 12/27) promoting an early special election for the House seat that will be open due to Congressman Janklow's resignation. In the latest such editorial the AL posits the following:

Forget the cost of a special election. Without someone to represent us in the House, South Dakota could lose millions of dollars. Who would represent us on ethanol and the Lewis and Clark pipeline and who knows what else? No one.

A letter to the editor that appeared in today's edition of the New York Times, headlined "Journalistic Ethics," makes the argument better than I ever could that David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, should reveal his past ties to Tom Daschle whenever he writes about Tom Daschle. For a recap of Kranz's ties to Daschle, read the Talon News links on the right side of this blog. Excerpt from the cited letter:

The code of ethics of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, the organization of editorial page editors and writers, puts it plainly: "The writer should be constantly alert to conflicts of interest, real or apparent, including those that may arise from financial holdings, secondary employment, holding public office or involvement in political, civic or other organizations. Timely public disclosure can minimize suspicion. Editors should seek to hold syndicates to these standards."

The AP is reporting the top stories of the year in South Dakota, and Congressman Janklow's conviction tops the list: "S.D.: Crash, Conviction, Resignation No. 1 Story."

Talon News' crack reporting makes the pages of the Washington Post, in a story headlined "Leaks Probe Is Gathering Momentum."