Ron Fournier keeps up the fight

Here's an update on a ridiculous situation that keeps getting worse.
From MoveOn.org:

{Today, the Associated Press (whose articles are published in thousands of newspapers nationwide) wrote a story about Barack Obama's vice presidential pick that sounded more like right-wing FOX than an unbiased news organization. Under the headline "Biden pick shows lack of confidence," the AP wrote:
The candidate of change went with the status quo. In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness--inexperience in office and on foreign policy...He picked a 35-year veteran of the Senate--the ultimate insider...The Biden selection is the next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative..."


This isn't an isolated incident for the AP reporter who wrote this story, Ron Fournier--who was recently appointed as the AP's Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief. Media watchdog group Media Matters wrote a report showing that Fournier's presidential coverage has consistently smeared Democrats and favored John McCain.
Can you email AP reporter Ron Fournier and CC his boss, Managing Editor Mike Oreskes? Tell them that the public's faith in the 160-year-old AP will be gone if Ron Fournier is allowed to continue his slanted articles against Democrats and for McCain.

Here are their emails:

Michael Oreskes, AP Managing Editor, mOreskes@ap.org
Ron Fournier, AP reporter and Washington D.C. Bureau Chief, rfournier@ap.org }


Sounds like a good idea to me, way overdue. This man ought to be forced to work for McCain openly, instead of secretly. He is, of course, the guy who e-mailed Karl Rove, encouraging him to "keep up the fight" during the Pat Tillman coverup.

 

The piece is clearly listed "Analysis" by AP. I haven't followed the Fournier problems much, but in this case he's supposed to analyzie.

 

Fournier is also the guy who called Al Gore's people and told them not to concede on Election Night 2000, if I remember correctly.

 

To me, it's a huge problem if he's getting involved by e-mailing Rover and calling Gore's people and involving himself in the events... And yes, the article today was tagged analysis.

 

He shouldn't be the bureau chief if he is going to be so openly partisan. Call him a columnist and move on.

 

Does AP have a left-leaning analysis of today's events as well?
This isn't a newspaper we are talking about. If Fournier is their only "analyst," I seriously have a problem with that.

 

I think Fournier has done analysis pieces that tick off the right and the left. If that's the case, he must be doing his job.

However, I'm not a fan of the more-opinionated daily coverage of politics he's shepherding. Play it down the middle on straight news.

 

Yeah, he called Klaine, and got Klaine all riled up to call the lackey to tell him to intercept Gore steps before he was going to concede, IIRC from "Recount."

 

I guess the key factor will be how many news outlets are running his stuff.

With political opinion easy to come by online -- readers now can pretty much live their lives without ever encountering an opinion that differs from their own -- I'm not sure why AP believes what its clients need most is yet another voice in the Tower of Babel. Especially since a bylined analysis piece is going to be tame compared with what else is available only a mouse click away.

I don't think it's a good idea for someone with a hand in deciding coverage to be writing opinion on those topics. I know it's hardly unprecedented, I just think it complicates the credibility.

 

the ap has made more of a concerted effort to do analysis pieces. an editor, a black woman, did one about appreciating michelle obama the other day.

that being said, after reading that piece a month ago about fournier/rove, etc., this article rang a little funny to me. nothing fox new-ish, but slanted a bit, i guess.

 

No thread using MoveOn.org as its primary source should be on the Journalism thread.

 

Fournier covered the White House for AP during Clinton's two terms. He had previously worked in Arkansas and covered Clinton's presidential campaign, then got moved to D.C. as White House correspondent when he won in 1992.

Based on everything I've ever read and heard about him, he got the gig because he had good working relationship with Bill and Hillary and Carville and Stephanopolous (sp?), who considered him a fair reporter.

Fournier also reportedly gets up to $10K for speeches these days.