Daily Source Bias Check: Roll Call

These sources have minimal bias and use very few loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes).  The reporting is factual and usually sourced.  These are the most credible media sources. See all Least Biased Sources.

• Overall, we rate Roll Call Least Biased based on straightforward, factually based news reporting. We also rate them Very-High for factual reporting due to strong sourcing and a clean fact check record.

Detailed Report

Factual Reporting: VERY HIGH
Country: USA
World Press Freedom Rank: USA 48/180

History

Founded in 1955, Roll Call is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of congressional elections across the country. According to their about page “As the leading provider of congressional news, legislative tracking and advocacy services, CQ Roll Call is the only media company that connects policy professionals and opinion leaders with the information and tools they need to understand and influence Congress.”

In 2009, Roll Call merged with CQ (Congressional Quarterly) and became known as CQ Roll Call.

The current editor is Ed Timms.

Funded by / Ownership

In 2018, Roll Call was purchased by FiscalNote, a privately held software, data, and media company headquartered in Washington, D.C. Revenue is generated through advertising.

Analysis / Bias

Roll Call is a solid “just the facts” news source, featuring a writing staff with an impressive set of credentials in political journalism. The articles are well sourced, and the information is presented “as is” with very minimal bias such as this Trump to skip Poland trip, and monitor Hurricane Dorian as it heads toward Florida. While looking through the articles one in particular caught my attention. The article addressed the much hyped, on both sides, possibility of using National Guard troops to assist ICE in finding and deporting illegal immigrants. There is no real substance to the claim at this point, which came from an early draft of a “what if” style memo that never reached any official level.  I’ve read numerous articles on the issue, and Roll Call’s article was the fairest and least biased I have seen.

The only “negative” I found was in the editorial content. For a site that is so balanced in other areas, the editorials do reveal a slight left bias. While I understand that op-ed pages are just that, opinions, I wouldn’t mind seeing some opposing views as well. Still, if you just stick with the articles, I have to say that Roll Call is the best site I’ve found in quite some time for fair, factual, and informative journalism.

A factual search reveals they have not failed a fact check.

Overall, we rate Roll Call Least Biased based on straightforward, factually based news reporting. We also rate them Very-High for factual reporting due to strong sourcing and a clean fact check record. (D. Kelley 2/18/2017) Updated (8/30/2019)

Source: https://www.rollcall.com