AP credibility takes a hit

When an Associated Press mini-editor played a recent power game with Paris Hilton it proved only that reportage isn't taken seriously.

Editor & Publisher on February 28, 2007 reported the incident this way:

"AP Entertainment Editor Institutes Ban on Paris Hilton Coverage

"The Associated Press decided to give up a major vice last week: its addiction to stories about Paris Hilton. In the past year, Hilton has appeared on the wire an average of twice a week.

"The wire service's entertainment editor Jesse Washington sent a memo to staffers on Feb. 13 that said, barring any major events, the AP would not run any mention of Paris Hilton on the wire, according to the memo, which was obtained by the New York Observer.

"In the Observer article Washington was quoted as saying, 'There was a surprising amount of hand-wringing. A lot of people in the newsroom were saying this was tampering with the news.' Washington added that one editor's response was: 'This is a great idea -- can we add North Korea?'

"The AP was largely successful in the experiment, but Washington said that, unfortunately, her name did pop up in a couple of stories."

If Mini-Editor Washington can get away with whimsical gate-keeping, while peers such as the Observer and E&P wink at each other about it, imagine what's going on at AP with the big stuff - like what's causing the gasoline rip-off, for instance.

If one little "entertainment editor" can simply send out a memo and put a certain category of news off-limits, then try to conjure memos at the AP offices when the really big wigs send out memos about their limits to news reports.

Now, imagine the ignore-this-type memos moving through offices of other, even less-respected mainstream media. Meanwhile they're wondering why readership/viewership/advertising is sinking