Week in review: Saturday, August 26, 2023
After a couple of months off to accommodate a new baby, here is this week’s newsletter:
What does the news landscape look like?
Donald Trump’s legal issues and the GOP presidential race dominated the news cycle last week.
This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:
• Trump indictments (99% more on the left)
• GOP debate (13% more on the right)
• Prigozhin Plane Crash (2% more on the right)
Media bias ratings are from AllSides.
This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days among the top stories.
Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:
• russia (1.8x)
• criminal (1.6x)
• war (1.4x)
Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:
• hunter (6.1x)
• maui (3.4x)
• biden (3.1x)
What is happening in the top stories?
Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…
Trump indictments
Key people: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Rudy Giuliani
Background:
Donald Trump is facing charges in Georgia for illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.
This is Trump’s fourth arrest since April, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face indictment.
The investigation into Trump and 18 individuals in his orbit is the result of a 2-and-a-half year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Latest developments:
Supporters of Trump are scrutinizing Fani Willis, the district attorney who brought the charges against him.
Trump’s bond conditions in Georgia include restrictions on intimidating witnesses and making social media posts.
Trump’s 2024 campaign is fundraising off of his mugshot image.
GOP debate
Key people: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy
Background:
Eight Republican presidential candidates participated in the debate, including Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP field, did not take part in the debate.
Prigozhin Plane Crash
Key people: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Nikolai Patrushev
Background:
Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin were killed in a plane crash near Putin’s Valdai residence, raising speculation of foul play.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group military company, led an armed rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Several supporters of the war in Ukraine have been demoted, jailed, or killed in the past year.
