Arkansas Blog

I'd have to say the results will tell. One of my own pet peeves is reading an article that quotes the House Speaker as saying Republicans want to cut Medicaid to the poor and the House Minority Leader as saying Republicans want to only fund the increases we can afford and then leaves the he-said/she-said tension as though irreconcileable. Do 20 minutes of research and find out that the Speaker is lying and call her on it. She won't do it again. Heck, the Minority Leader may be lying, too. Call 'em both on it.

Reporters seem too worried about being on the invite list today. (Max, I'll have to give you this one - you don't seem to have that problem.) Whatever happened to not arguing with people who buy ink by the barrel?

If Ron is about that - great. If he simply wants the AP to become a (more) liberal version of Fox News he'll end up putting the AP out of business.

Wonder if Ron ever wrote for New Orleans or Baton Rouge papers??
his name rings a big bell in my brain.

ARK. BLOG: No, his first job in Arkansas was at the Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs. He arrived there from Detroit.

Good for Fournier. His approach cuts out the heart of what I call the Gannett corruption of journalism. The Gannett model holds that there are at least two sides to every point of view and that all sides carry equal weight. This usually means that people who say gravity does not exist are given equal credence with scientists who can prove otherwise.

The Gannett model is what lets Bush get away unchallenged when he says no one can prove global warming is real. Or when they let Bush/Cheney say Saddam Husein had WMDs and nobody challenged it.

Guess that is my answer, Senile Record here in the Spa....knew the name was not unknown
to me, the french made me think TP or Baton Rouge.
Hope to God he will shake things up, we are in dire need of real old school newspeople.

Did I actually just read an editor at the DG saying they don't put AP out front because there is opinion in the coverage? I did not actually see that, right? This must be an DG editor who never read Seth during the Huckabee years. This must be an editor who has never seen a Huckabee piece manipulated by Simmons. Wow...the hypocrisy of the DG worrying about AP style is a little amazing.

Ron is a great guy and a great reporter. He can only be good for AP Washington. I am still sorting through what the Russert funeral coverage says about how out of touch Washington is with average Americans worried about gas prices and mortgages.

Fournier has been, is, and apparently always will be a hack. Josh Marshall has the story of how Fournier was in contact with Karl Rove with regard to Pat Tillman:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/204019.php

Definitely the sort of disinterested observer we want covering the news.

Of course, my favorite is this story, where Fournier and an AP fellow hack deliver donuts and coffee to John McCain in what is surely a show of "analytical" AP reporting:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/202828.php

Hacks. That's all they are.

I've only been following Ron's work by name at the AP for a short while. His writing always seems to slant towards the Murdoch model. I'll be willing to wager a hefty sum FOX is his favorite news channel... and wonder if Ruperts recently acquired position on the AP Board is behind changes such as promotion of Ron?

I've seen Fournier's style. A few months ago, he claimed in his reporting that Huckabee had granted a pardon to Wayne DuMond. That was untrue, and he never published a correction. His "Hot Soup" news blog was a notable failure. He prefers to engage in newsmaking rather than news gathering.

Prediction: His tenure as AP Washington bureau chief will end in scandal.

I agree with Arkansas Blogger. In fact, the controversy over Fournier's email comments to Rove may be the beginning of the end for him.

And it should be the beginning of the end. I find Fournier's attempt to spin his comments--they were "breezy"--not merely unconvincing, but insulting to citizens' intelligence.

The examples of Fournier's new style for AP's Washington bureau cited in yesterday's Politico story are smarter and snappier than the usual dull, "respectfully submitted" style of AP. They look like leads of the old UPI in the days when Unipressers referred to the stodgy AP as 'Grandma.' Fournier's appointment may be upsetting the cart for reporters who think success is landing a gig on a talking head cable show. His appointment is a refreshing sign of a return to responsible journalism where reporters reported without fear or favor.