Comments on: O’Reilly: ‘AP May Now Be Dead As an Objective News Organization’

By: Julia

Julia — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:42:48 +0000

Is there a concerted effort to contact the local newspapers that use the AP and show them how terrible the coverage is? When I have called to complain about the Enquirerâ€™s coverage, they usually blame the AP, even if itâ€™s their own story! I think the liberal papers like having the liberal AP as a scapegoat if someone complains.The original idea was that AP would generate content they couldnâ€™t (national, world), or that would duplicate efforts (covering the economy). Fine, as long as theyâ€™re reliable and objective. If they arenâ€™t, you owe it to your readers to find something that is.

By: TBlumer

TBlumer — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:22:58 +0000

#2, Not really, but AP is more omnipresent.

Having said that, there are some at AP who seem to be “on a mission” more than at Reuters or AFP.

Scott Lindlaw (”My mission is to see that Bush is not re-elected”) comes to mind.

By: TBlumer

TBlumer — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:31:03 +0000

#1, great point.

The original idea was that AP would generate content they couldn’t (national, world), or that would duplicate efforts (covering the economy). Fine, as long as they’re reliable and objective. If they aren’t, you owe it to your readers to find something that is. But instead, they just shrug at the lousy content that makes it into THEIR product.

And they wonder why the business is declining precipitously….

By: Gordon

Gordon — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:27:58 +0000

In reality, is Reuters any better?

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:54:19 +0000

Is there a concerted effort to contact the local newspapers that use the AP and show them how terrible the coverage is? When I have called to complain about the Enquirer’s coverage, they usually blame the AP, even if it’s their own story! I think the liberal papers like having the liberal AP as a scapegoat if soemone complains.