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Horrified By AP Bias
As a 10-year veteran of the Associated Press, I was horrified to read Josh's articles about obvious bias by the AP in election coverage. I remember some very tough meetings with former AP president Lou Boccardi, who insisted on the right to fire anyone for the "appearance" of a conflict of interest. Apparently, his successors do not hold the reins as tightly.
The AP is famously owned by its U.S. daily newspaper "members." They exercise their control through a Board of Directors, made up of newspaper executives.
If you find something outrageous in AP coverage, please write to one or more members of the board in your area. As a 150-year-old quasi-military bureaucracy, the AP can be very sensitive to anything that concerns those higher up in the command structure.
Here is the list. It is probably best to be professional and specific in your letters.
William Dean Singleton – Chairman
Vice Chairman and CEO
MediaNews Group Inc.
Denver, Colorado
Gary Pruitt – Vice Chairman
Chairman, President and CEO
The McClatchy Company
Sacramento, California
Donna J. Barrett
President and chief executive officer
Community Newspaper Holdings
Birmingham, AL
Craig A. Dubow
President and chief executive officer
Gannett Co., Inc.
McLean, VA
R. Jack Fishman
Publisher and Editor
Citizen Tribune
Morristown, Tennessee
Walter E. Hussman Jr.
Publisher
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Little Rock, Arkansas
Julie Inskeep
Publisher
The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Mary Jacobus
President and Chief Operating Officer
The New York Times Regional Media Group
Tampa, Florida
Boisfeuillet (Bo) Jones
Publisher and CEO
The Washington Post
Washington, D.C.
Mary Junck
President and CEO
Lee Enterprises, Inc.
Davenport, Iowa
David Lord
President
Pioneer Newspapers, Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Rupert Murdoch
Chairman and chief executive officer
News Corp.
New York, NY
R. John Mitchell
Publisher
Rutland Herald
Rutland, Vermont
Steven O. Newhouse
Chairman,
Advance.Net
New York, New York
Charles V. Pittman
Senior Vice President-Publishing
Schurz Communications Inc.
South Bend, Indiana
Michael E. Reed
CEO
GateHouse Media, Inc.
Fairport, New York
Bruce T. Reese
President and CEO
Bonneville International Corp.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jon Rust
Publisher
Southeast Missourian
Co-president, Rust Communications
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
David Westin
President
ABC News
New York, New York
H. Graham Woodlief
President, Publishing Division
Vice President,
Media General Inc.
Richmond, Virginia
Sam Zell
Chairman and chief executive officer
Tribune Company
Chicago, IL
Comments (7)
Thanks for the suggestion. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do, especially when you're busy scraping your jaw off of the ground.
July 6, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you. Going to the top often seems to get more done than crawling up from the bottom, but sometimes it's damned hard to find that top rung.
July 6, 2008 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
AP used to be at the top of my computer home page. No longer. This bias is not new, is has been progressing over the last few years. I have written in the past, and unfortunately, take their headlines with a grain of salt. Thanks for your post and the info.
July 6, 2008 9:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for info, will cut and paste to keep.
It would be great if TPM had a page for contacts of MSM. With fax numbers. I know it might not be TPM's responsibility but it sure would be nice to have this type of resource page close by - (easier to act quickly - more cost and time efficient).
July 6, 2008 9:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that an organized campaign could be deveoped to present "reporters" with cupcakes with sprinkles (cheap cupcakes). What would their response be? Would they even get the connection?
It would need to be 'on-camera' with audio.
Maybe they can be tripped up, or maybe they have no shame and our 4th Estate is lost.
Someone needs to come up with a quip that would elicit an inappropriate response from the "reporters" that would shame them in the public eye, regardless what portion of the public was watching.
July 6, 2008 10:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
What would you expect with Murdoch of News Corp as Chairman and CEO. There, the bias mystery is solved. Something has to be done. Maybe the upcoming Legislation to Restore the Fairness Doctrine would help. Call your legislators and make sure they support this very important legislation.
July 7, 2008 12:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I see the problem(s) Murdoch and Post.
July 7, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
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