Alaska Media Bias Scorecard · one of 13 outlets scored
The Alaska Story Media Bias & Reporting Quality
The Alaska Story is one of 13 outlets on the Alaska Media Bias Scorecard. A panel of three AI models from three different companies, reading with every outlet name and byline removed, has scored 142 of its articles under rubric v0.4.0. Its partisan lean reads 1.5 (right) and its ideological lean 1.5 (right), with no partisan lean detected in 43 of 142 articles. Data as of 2026-10-23; the numbers move as the sample grows.
What the results mean#
- Below the board median on evidence fairness (1.6 against 2.9), sourcing (1.6 against 2.5), source independence (1.1 against 1.9), analysis labeling (1.8 against 3.7), language neutrality (1.9 against 3.4).
- Partisan lean reads strongly toward Republican (net 1.5, across 142 articles).
- Ideological tilt reads strongly toward conservative (net 1.5, across 136 articles).
- Institutional posture nets near zero (-0.1) with strength 1.3: its articles lean both ways and cancel.
- Establishment-populist framing nets near zero (0.3) with strength 1.1: its articles lean both ways and cancel.
- Conservation-development framing reads strongly toward development (net 1.9, across 53 articles).
- In 33 same-story comparisons, the judges picked its account as: fairest evidence treatment 6, best sourced 4, most independent of official framing 4, most editorialized 17.
These describe the sampled articles, not every story The Alaska Story publishes. Labels such as near-zero net lean are cutoffs on the number beside them, not statistical tests.
Its fingerprint#
Five lean axes on the same -3 to +3 scale every outlet is drawn on. The marker is the net lean; the pale band spans the average swing per article in both directions.
Where it sits among Alaska's outlets#
~5.4 local articles/day · 142 scored
How to read this: left and right is ideological tilt; up is source independence (official claims tested rather than relayed). Bubble size is local articles per day, publishing volume rather than audience reach. Dashed outlines mark the known-lean control and the out-of-market reference; the moose marks our own newsroom. Hover or tap any bubble to spotlight it and see its exact numbers; tap again or click away to release it.
Its scores beside the board#
| Dimension | The Alaska Story | Board median |
|---|---|---|
| Partisan lean (-3 Democratic to +3 Republican) | 1.5 (right) | 0 (near-zero net lean) |
| Partisan lean strength (0-3, direction ignored) | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| Articles with no partisan lean detected | 43 of 142 | - |
| Ideological tilt (-3 progressive to +3 conservative) | 1.5 net, 1.5 strength (n=136) | 0 net, 0.7 strength |
| Institutional posture (-3 deference to +3 skepticism) | -0.1 net, 1.3 strength (n=141) | -0.2 net, 1 strength |
| Establishment-populist framing (-3 establishment to +3 populist) | 0.3 net, 1.1 strength (n=140) | -0.3 net, 0.8 strength |
| Conservation-development framing (-3 conservation to +3 development) | 1.9 net, 1.9 strength (n=53) | 0.2 net, 1.1 strength |
| Evidence fairness (0-4) | 1.6 | 2.9 |
| Sourcing (0-4) | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Source independence (0-4) | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| Analysis labeling (0-4) | 1.8 | 3.7 |
| Language neutrality (0-4) | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| Articles sampled | 142 | - |
Same story, side by side#
When The Alaska Story and another tracked outlet covered the same story, the panel compared the two blinded accounts directly. The Alaska Story appeared in 33 of 90 such comparisons; a win counts only when a majority of the three judges agree. Small numbers, stated as counts rather than a ranking.
| Category | Times picked |
|---|---|
| fairest evidence treatment | 6 of 33 |
| best sourced | 4 of 33 |
| most independent of official framing | 4 of 33 |
| most editorialized | 17 of 33 |
Coverage and volume#
About 5.4 local stories a day. Of 148 articles read for places, 42 are set in an Alaska community, 83 are statewide, 19 are about places outside Alaska and 4 name no place. Most covered: Anchorage (14), Fairbanks (7), North Slope (6), Wasilla (6), Juneau (4), Eagle River (2).
Access and distribution#
Facts about how The Alaska Story publishes, not scores: blocking AI crawlers is a legitimate choice, and a check our crawler could not complete says why.
| Paywall | RSS | Full-text RSS | AI crawlers blocked | Readable without JS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| none | yes | yes | 0 | yes |
Why it is on the board#
Active Alaska political news outlet, included on its own current footprint.
Reach context: Claims 30,000+ newsletter subscribers (its Substack page, 2026).
How this is measured#
Each article is scored by three models from three vendors against a published rubric, with outlet names and bylines removed first; an outlet's number is the mean of its per-article panel medians. Lean measures direction only, never quality. The full method, its validation checks and every outlet's numbers are on the Alaska Media Bias Scorecard, and the data is free to reuse with credit (CC BY 4.0).
The other outlets on the board#
Alaska News · Anchorage Daily News · Alaska Beacon · Anchorage Press · The Alaska Current · Juneau Independent · Fairbanks Daily News-Miner · MatSu Sentinel · Alaska Watchman · Alaska's News Source · Nieman Lab · Must Read Alaska