On the front page

Ogden’s political reporter, Steven Allen Adams, is back at work flacking for Ogden favorites, Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin.

First up:

'Workhorse' Capito Uses Her Voice in Washington

(You know the article is going to be a puff piece when “workhorse” shows up in the headline.)

Word count: 1250 words

Direct quotes from Capito: 407 words

My favorite sentence:

It only took Capito six years to move up to ranking member of a committee, coming to the Senate in 2014 after serving as a congresswoman for the 2nd District since 2001.

(Is Adams giving Capito personal credit for becoming the ranking member? Rank is determined by seniority and unless she played an actual role in the demise of some of those ahead of her, she did nothing to become the ranking member except show up for work.)

And then there is the obligatory reminder of who Capito’s father was:

The office is filled with mementos from her political career and reminders of the political legacy of her father, the late Republican Gov. Arch Moore.

Also on the front page:

Manchin Using Position to Build Compromise

(Note – despite the title, the article does not mention any actual examples of Senate compromises connected to Senator Manchin as most of the article is about the senator’s take on various controversies.)

Word count: 1087 words

Direct quotes from Manchin: 214 words

Favorite PR-worthy sentence:

Sources who worked for Manchin confirm this was his style during his two terms as governor of West Virginia, a boundless ball of energy, always in high gear.

Additionally

On page A5 we also find another article by Adams:

Manchin: Biden Speech Helped Restore 'Calmness'

Word count: 571 words

Direct quotes from Manchin: 188 words

And on page B3 of the “Region” section, Capito has her name under an op-ed:

Capito: Natural Gas Critical to Our Clean Energy Future

Word count: 600 words

An editor’s note under Capito’s name tells us:

This guest commentary from Sen. Shelley Capito initially appeared in The Washington Times.

Wrong. The op-ed did appear in the Washington Times on April 21 but Capito’s commentary “initially appeared” eight weeks ago on March 8 in WV News.

In addition to being almost two months old, Capito’s op-ed is filled with generalizations and "straw man" arguments. It’s also evidence-free. For example:

Renewables can’t power our country at 100 percent all the time, and battery technology can’t fill the gaps.

It doesn’t make a very good case against the Green New Deal but that probably doesn’t matter – the column’s appearance makes an Ogden favorite look good and it takes up space. And that is what the locals are mostly about.