US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing program

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing…?

Of the 19 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 37% are rated left, 52% are rated centre, 11% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 20. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.

Is US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing… left or right?

Neither side dominates it. Of the 19 rated outlets on this story, 37% are rated left, 52% are rated centre, 11% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.

Is the coverage of US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing… biased?

US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing program is one event reported by 20 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.

Which side is not reporting US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing…?

When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.

Which outlets covered US audit finds $20.9 million in misspending by Ohio manufacturing…?

20 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.

How much money did the audit find was misspent?

A U.S. Department of Commerce audit identified $20.9 million in misspending by a federally funded Ohio manufacturing program. The audit covered program spending from 2017 through 2024 and recommended that the federal government consider permanently terminating Ohio's funding and recouping the money.

What is the response from the Ohio manufacturing program?

Cleveland's MAGNET, an operator of the program, disputes the audit's findings, calling them inaccurate and stating they create a false and unfair picture. MAGNET also stated that $6.6 million spent on personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, using $1 million in MEP COVID relief money, was done at the request of Governor Mike DeWine, resulted in no profit for the agency, and the money was paid directly to manufacturers.

What action has the federal government taken?

The federal government paused MEP funding to Ohio in December, following preliminary findings from the audit. The audit itself recommends that the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology consider permanently terminating Ohio's funding and attempting to recoup the funds.