These articles were prominently advanced billed by the ADN on 10/26/02 (masthead B Section):  

WHO'LL BE OUR NEXT GOVERNOR?   
Will it be Sen. Frank Murkowski or Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer?  We take extensive looks at the backgrounds and politics of the two major candidates in side-by-side profiles.  

Sunday's front Page.

Political Pros  

0.7
(0.5)
1.5
 

1.3
(1.7)

PRO ULMER:  21.8  NET GRAND TOTAL BOTH ARTICLES

HOW FAIR?  BALANCED OR BIASED?  A balanced, fair treatment would have net column inch totals near zero.

* EXAMPLES OF RUSKIN NITPICKING AGAINST MURKOWSKI

RUSKIN (ADN): Little comes easily for him, in part because he often is unwilling to change positions, reads part of the entry on him in the Politics in America almanac.    [MRCA COMMENT: WAS THERE ANY ATTEMPT BY RUSKIN TO OBTAIN COMMENT OR REBUTTAL?  IT'S ENTIRELY LIKELY THAT MANY WOULD FIND A POLITICIAN THAT STICKS TO PRINCIPLES DESIRABLE]

RUSKIN (ADN):  [Murkowski] Helped encourage Federal Express to locate and expand at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.  Of course, it's Alaska's other senator for whom that airport is named.  [MRCA COMMENT: THIS IS AN UNNECESSARY PUT DOWN.  WHAT IS SHE SAYING, THAT MURKOWSKI's EFFORTS TO GET FEDERAL EXPRESS AREN'T WORTHWHILE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T GET THE ANCHORAGE AIRPORT NAMED AFTER HIM?]

RUSKIN (ADN): When he finds a line he likes, he sticks with it.  "You and I do not move in an out of Washington, D.C., on hot air, although occasionally there is quite a bit of it here," he often said in arguing for more oil development.  A search of the Congressional Record shows he has repeated the "hot air" quip 15 times from the floor of the Senate in the past year and many more times in press conferences and hearings.  [MRCA COMMENT: POLITICIANS HAVE TO GIVE DOZENS, HUNDREDS OF SPEECHES TO MANY DIFFERENT AUDIENCES.  THAT MURKOWSKI, A POLITICIAN, WOULD REPEAT SIMILAR WORDS IN SPEECHES IS NOT NEWS UNLESS RUSKIN SEARCHED THE RECORD TO SEE IF FRAN ULMER REPEATED HERSELF LESS (OR MORE??).]

RUSKIN (ADN): For a while, it looked like a scandal was emerging that might explode on Murkowski's campaign.  The New York Times wrote a story. Mike Wallace and a team of "60 Minutes" researchers had come to investigate.  Then in October 1980, Bering Straits and Sitnasauk filed a lawsuit against the bank.  But nothing ever stuck on Murkowski, who was an ex-banker by the time the allegations unfolded.  [MRCA COMMENT:  "But nothing ever stuck on Murkowski..."  THIS IS WORDING NORMALLY USED ON A CRIMINAL, A PERSON WIDELY ASSUMED TO BE GUILTY.  UNFAIR TO APPLY IT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE.]

RUSKIN (ADN):  He tried to show that a lot of constituencies unions, seniors, Jews, women business owners also wanted drilling. He held a series of press conferences in front of the Capitol to show that they stood with him.  [MRCA COMMENT:  WHY THIS DEFEATIST WORDING ON MURKIWSKI's EFFORTS?  HE DID SHOW SUPPORT FROM THOSE CONSTITUENCIES.  USING THE SYMPATHETIC CONSTRUCTION OF DON HUNTER'S GLOWING PRAISE OF ULMER, RUSKIN WOULD HAVE WRITTEN SOMETHING LIKE, "HE REACHED OUT AND BROUGHT A LOT OF CONSTITUENCIES UNIONS, SENIORS, JEWS, WOMAN BUSINESS OWNERS TO CAPITAL PRESS CONFERENCES TO SHOW THEY SUPPORTED ALASKA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE IN ANWR".  "...stood with him" THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS ALL ABOUT SUPPORTING SOMETHING HE WAS DOING FOR HIMSELF RATHER THAN FOR THIS MOST CRITICAL ELEMENT OF ALASKA'S FUTURE.]

ADDITIONAL MRCA COMMENT

IN THE "BATTLING THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS" SECTION, WHY DID RUSKIN ONLY INTERVIEW A DEMOCRAT AND A WILDERNESS SOCIETY STAFFER?  THERE IS A HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWED WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWLEDGABLY EVALUATED MURKOWSKI'S EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND COPE WITH GROWING ENVIRONMENTALIST IMPACTS ON ALASKA'S ECONOMY.  AT A MINIMUM QUOTES FROM THE VOICE OF THE TIMES EDITORIALS ON THIS SUBJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN FAR MORE GERMANE.  THEN RUSKIN COULD GO TO THOSE SHE DID USE FOR REACTIONS, NOT TO PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY HOSTILE TO HIM FOR THE PRIME QUOTES.