Comments on: ‘Ask AP’ Writer Fails to Note Quick Retail Response to Oil-Price Drop

By: Ironman

Ironman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:59:10 +0000

#2: In that case, why blare a good news headline on the front page while deliberately packaging it as something less later in the paper?

I think we’re seeing two things at work. First, the East Valley Tribune’s editors know its good news and are very willing to proclaim it. At the same time, the actual article is packaged so that it is more likely to be bought and distributed by a biased AP. It’s almost as if they’re gaming the AP’s editors.

By: TBlumer

TBlumer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:11:57 +0000

#1, I guess it’s more agenda-important to tell people things aren’t really getting better (though they are) than to cover a hard news story probably everyone is trying to follow.

By: Ironman

Ironman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:16:12 +0000

Just a quick heads up - the headline story in today's Phoenix-area's East Valley Tribune, which features a very large photo of a Valero gas station in Mesa, AZ, is: "E.V. Sees Largest Gas Price Drop in Year" with the sub-head: "Cost falls nearly 7 cents a gallon from last week, the biggest decrease since August" * Page A15 Oddly, there's no connection between the headline and the actual story, which has a much more pessimistic headline: "Falling gas prices offer slight relief in E.V." That would be the story and headline that would be picked up and distributed by the AP. It's an even more interesting choice of a headline as the biggest story in the Phoenix area right now involves a shooting at a community college in south Phoenix, which was bumped to Page A3.