A Maine Senate candidate faces a sexual assault allegation, but the bigger story is how the media shaped it — bad for public trust and for Platner, whose career looks finished.

• Graham Platner, a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he had dated on and off for two years.
• CNN and Politico left out that she had texted him about wanting a massage that night, which he took as an invitation before she told him not to come over.
• Politico called him "uninvited," even though it knew about the text — the Washington Post did include the massage detail, but Politico published first and set the narrative.
• A Politico reporter also suggested on air that the accuser's therapist confirmed the assault, but the actual story only shows recent emails and vague support, not confirmation.
• Another accuser, Lindsay Field, says the New York Times ignored most of the evidence she handed over, dismissing her because she was a conservative activist.

Outlook: Platner looks headed toward dropping out, and the fight now is over whether the media handled the allegations fairly.