RANGE Media is rated Left with High factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.
LEFT BIAS
These media sources are moderate to strongly biased toward liberal/progressive causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may use strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by appealing to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports, and omit information that may damage liberal/progressive causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.
- Overall, we rate RANGE Media Left biased based on its explicit anti-racist, class-focused, worker-oriented editorial philosophy and consistent emphasis on progressive social, environmental, labor, and civil-rights concerns. We rate it High for factual reporting due to detailed sourcing, transparency, disclosure of conflicts, identifiable journalists, and a clean fact-check record, while deducting for consistently one-sided framing and an openly advocacy-oriented approach to journalism.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEFT (-5.9)
Factual Reporting: HIGH (1.5)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
RANGE Media is an independent local news organization founded by journalist Luke Baumgarten in Spokane, Washington, in 2020. It covers Spokane and the Inland Northwest with an emphasis on local government, labor, inequality, environmental issues, and marginalized communities.
According to its About page, RANGE describes itself as “emphatically anti-racist” and “class-focused,” with a mission of empowering working people through civic education and investigative journalism.
Read our profile on United States media and government.
Funded by / Ownership
RANGE is owned by the Spokane Workers Cooperative, making its employees worker-owners. RANGE states that other cooperative businesses and the cooperative board have no authority over its editorial decisions.
Funding comes from reader memberships, donations, grants, advertising, and sponsorships. RANGE has disclosed that grants historically supplied a substantial share of its operating budget and received a $100,000 Press Forward grant in 2024.
Analysis / Bias
RANGE openly practices people-centered and advocacy-oriented journalism emphasizing workers, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, environmental concerns, and restraints on institutional power.
For example, Queer BIPOC organizer arrested on their way to Spokane Pride centers the perspective of an anti-ICE activist and questions police motives surrounding the arrest. Police and government perspectives are included, but the framing is clearly sympathetic to protesters.
Similarly, Spokane County residents mobilize as data centers eye region devotes substantial attention to activists opposing data centers and environmental and transparency concerns. However, it also includes Republican officials, economic-development arguments, union perspectives, government records, and outside research, demonstrating meaningful factual balance.
The stronger ideological perspective appears in Resurrecting the bogeymen, which describes Christian nationalist Matt Shea as a “Christian supremacist,” characterizes conservative campaigns as anti-Muslim fearmongering, and focuses extensively on far-right extremism. The article nevertheless provides substantial documentation and gives Shea opportunities to respond.
RANGE itself states that it does not aspire to conventional objectivity. Its editorial philosophy says journalism should center people with less power and “empower the afflicted and afflict the powerful.” It has also stated that it stands against racism, transphobia, xenophobia, economic oppression, and other forms of structural inequality.
Therefore, we rate RANGE Left rather than Left-Center based on its explicit progressive social philosophy, class-oriented worldview, story selection, and advocacy-oriented framing.
Failed Fact Checks
- None to date.
Overall, we rate RANGE Media Left biased based on its explicit anti-racist, class-focused, worker-oriented editorial philosophy and consistent emphasis on progressive social, environmental, labor, and civil-rights concerns. We rate it High for factual reporting due to detailed sourcing, transparency, disclosure of conflicts, identifiable journalists, and a clean fact-check record, while deducting for consistently one-sided framing and an openly advocacy-oriented approach to journalism. (D. Van Zandt 09/03/2026)
Source: https://www.rangemedia.co/
Last Updated on September 3, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources