I’ve been getting barraged with emails the past few days about the Associated Press. The emails center around the conduct of Ron Fournier, who is the AP’s Washington bureau chief.
While many folks think that the NY Times is the most powerful news organization in America. It isn’t. AP is. The reason is simple. Most newspapers rely on AP for the meat and potatoes of their out-of-market coverage, nationally and internationally.
Here’s the start of one such letter:
I expected AP to be free from bias as it has always been fairly “middle of the road” in coverage of various issues over the years but I have to admit the new D.C. Bureau Chief Ron Fournier has shown a shocking lack of balance so far this election year!
What has the emailers all in a swivet is an analysis by Fournier on Sen. Barack Obama’s pick of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. Led by Moveon.org, these folks allege that Fournier crossed over from analysis to opinion and that he unfairly slammed Obama. As proof of his bias, they note that Sen. John McCain at one point offered Fournier a communications job (which Fournier declined.).
I asked AP about the whole flap, and it’s their decision not to comment on Moveon.org’s allegations. But a spokesman noted that Fournier has solid credentials as a journalist known for fairness and shoeleather. The organization also notes:
” The dual role of AP Washington Bureau Chief and political writer has long roots in AP history, as well as that of other Washington bureaus. Walter Mears, who won a Pulitzer for his 1976 presidential coverage, served in both capacities from 1977 to 1984. As bureau chief he continued to write news copy, usually analytical pieces. Likewise, other leading news organizations have often had their bureau chiefs serve in both capacities.”
For a not particularly flattering profile of Fournier, click here. I read the analysis, which was clearly marked as such. It seemed to me more of a column than an analysis to me. And in the important advice that it is often not what you say that matters but how you say it, the piece is very blunt, more blunt than most of the content on the wires. You can find the column at the bottom of this E&P story.
But that said, I don’t believe the AP is out to get Barack Obama. Generally speaking, I think the coverage is even-handed. And I’ve heard some folks in the news biz grouse that the AP’s daily coverage on the campaign trail is too Obama-centric.
What seems pretty clear in all of this is that the media is finding itself under intense scrutiny for every sentence in this election year.
Update: Follow this link to a memo from AP about the Fournier flap. I’m not sure it addresses the central question of whether that analysis was analysis or opinion, but it’s a good primer on the interconnectedness of Washington media circles.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
I’ve always found the AP to be kind of like journalistic mayonnaise, but I’m not surprised people are taking exception seeing as it’s election season.
On another note, have you noticed the spate of papers canceling AP, especially out west? I’ve assumed all along that it’s purely economics, but do you think it also might be change of editorial direction? Both?
The change is mostly about economics. The AP is expensive. In most newsrooms, it’s the single biggest expense after payroll. The AP has redone its rate structure, and even though the rates for many papers haven’t gone up, there’s a sense that there is less to use, so it FEELS like a rate hike. Finally, I think is a feeling among some publishers that the AP, which was started by newspapers, has abandoned its print customers for a shinier digital future. The real question—of course—will be whether mid-sized newspapers w/o extensive and expensive bureaus in other places can get that national and international content elsewhere. I’m not sure they can. On the other hand, some experts suggest that all that national news is merely filler. Local is everything. My sense: The balance is probably somewhere in the middle. Time will tell.
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