Posted on 09/04/2004 5:36:40 AM PDT by Dog
Booing the AP When the AP story about a Republican crowd booing President Bush's well-wishes for Bill Clinton first broke at 2:12 p.m., the story carried the byline of Tom Hays. After coming under fire, the AP pulled the story down. The original link now brings you to a dead page.
After a brief interlude, the AP reposted the story, minus the claims that the crowd had booed Clinton's heart scare. The revised story is here. It carries the time stamp of 2:31 p.m. and, curiously, no byline. It also carried no mention of the story's previous version, nor any mark that the new version is indeed a revision. (For those looking for it, there was one tell-tale sign in the AP's URL: The URL for the first version ended in "bush_clinton_1", while the URL for the second version ends "bush_clinton_2".)
So the AP: (1) Puts out a story with falsified reporting; (2) Pulls the story; (3) Removes the faulty reporting; (4) Makes no note of its mistake; and then (5) Pulls the byline of the reporter who made the error. If you were going to impute bad faith to the folks at AP--and at this point that's not unreasonable to do--you might suspect that they have pulled Tom Hays's byline to protect him.
Behold the power of Lexis-Nexis. The AP was able to cover their tracks on the web, but Lexis-Nexis keeps all versions of stories which carry different time-stamps. The Hays original is preserved there in its entirety:
September 3, 2004 Friday 2:12 PM Eastern Time SECTION: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LENGTH: 649 words
HEADLINE: Bill Clinton hospitalized with chest pains, will face bypass surgery
BYLINE: TOM HAYS; Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: NEW YORK
Former President Bill Clinton checked into a Manhattan hospital Friday with chest pains and will soon undergo bypass surgery, his office announced.
An angiogram given to Clinton revealed "significant blockage," said a Democratic official, who had discussed the condition with the former president's staff and spoke on condition of anonymity. It did not appear that Clinton suffered a heart attack, the official said.
Clinton, 58, was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia after undergoing initial testing near his suburban home, his office said. Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, were to be with the president in the city, the statement said.
Clinton canceled a two-day joint trip with his wife across upstate New York.
Sen. Clinton made a brief appearance Friday at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, after which she noted that her husband was hospitalized and would need heart surgery, and apologized for leaving right away. "He's in excellent hands," she said.
Dozens of reporters and camera crews were assembled outside the city hospital, which is north of Clinton's Harlem office. Hospital officials had no immediate comment.
There was no word on when the surgery would take place. A source speaking on condition of anonymity said the surgery was not likely to take place Friday, but instead at a later date.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Clinton's mother-in-law, Dorothy Rodham, said Clinton had called her to tell her about the situation.
"He sounded wonderful as usual and very upbeat, as he always is," she said. "I just told him how much I love him."
She said she didn't know if he was in the hospital when he called.
Clinton had a cancerous growth removed from his back shortly after leaving office in early 2001. It turned out to be basal cell carcinoma, the most treatable form of skin cancer. In 1996, he had had a precancerous lesion removed from his nose and a year before that had a benign cyst taken off his chest.
Other than that, Clinton has had the normal health problems that often accompany aging - periods of slightly elevated cholesterol and hearing loss - and an appetite for junk food. In 1997, he was fitted with hearing aids. He has also suffered from allergies.
Clinton went to Northern Westchester Hospital on Thursday after suffering "mild chest pain" and shortness of breath, his office said in a statement. He spent the night at his Chappaqua home, but checked into the Manhattan hospital after further tests Friday revealed the medical problem.
"He's going to be fine," Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said at a rally in Newark, Ohio.
"But every single one of us wants to extend to him our best wishes, our prayers and our thoughts and I want you all to let a cheer out and clap that he can hear all the way to New York," Kerry said to cheers. Clinton had been expected to campaign extensively for Kerry.
President George W. Bush, campaigning in Wisconsin, wished Clinton "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."
"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said. Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wisconsin, booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.
In June, a Clinton spokesman characterized the ex-president as "doing very well" health-wise. The 42nd president has struggled with a weight problem, but had recently seemed much leaner at public appearances.
During his two terms as president, Clinton was known for his love of fast food. But in January of this year, Clinton said he had gone on "The South Beach Diet" and started a workout regimen.
Clinton has led an active lifestyle since leaving office. Most recently, he was on the road plugging his memoirs, "My Life."
Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Frank Eltman in New York, David Hammer in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Marc Humbert in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
The next nugget on the Lexis-Nexis trail is a shortened, corrected, un-bylined version of the story that is time-stamped 2:41 p.m.:
September 3, 2004 Friday 2:41 PM Eastern Time SECTION: NATIONAL POLITICAL NEWS
LENGTH: 118 words
HEADLINE: Bush Offers Best Wishes for Clinton
DATELINE: WEST ALLIS, Wis.
President Bush on Friday offered former President Bill Clinton, who faces heart bypass surgery, "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."
"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally.
Bush offered his wishes while campaigning one day after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New York. Clinton was hospitalized in New York after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath.
Bush recently praised Clinton when the former president went to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait. He lauded Clinton for his knowledge, compassion and "the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."
So what's going on here? Was Hays in Wisconsin reporting, or in New York? What role did Ron Fournier, Frank Eltman, David Hammer, and Marc Humbert have in this story? There are five reporters on the hook for this misreporting, surely one of them will want to clear their name.
P.S.: This is a fine time for Romenesko to be on vacation. Let's hope he digs into this story on Tuesday. Paging Howie Kurtz . . . posted by Jonathan V. Last at 10:49 PM
self bump
Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Frank Eltman in New York, David Hammer in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Marc Humbert in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
Never forget: Back in Iraq our military bombed a safehouse of a known "Rat Line" of terrorists coming in. It was the AP that for weeks claimed we had bombed a "wedding party". Our military had provided video, pictures, testimonials proving we did not, yet the AP persisted.
But the truth is, people trust Drudge as much as they trust the rest of the media. (Take that as you wish. I think more and more people take the whole lot with a grain of salt)
There are unnamed contributors, as well. The AP has reporters traveling with Bush. Scott Lindlaw and Deb Reichmann are two names that came up yesterday, via Mark Belling who hosts a talk show out of Milwaukee.
AMEN
We don't know that. At the end of the article four reporters are named as contributing to the story.
Now, don't think I don't hold Hays responsible for the content of an article with his byline. I most certainly do. However, I have my suspicion that it was one of the four at the end who inserted the booing lie. The entire AP is a cesspool of deceit these days.
In fact the OIG report is pretty damning and some attorneys are going to get pretty rich off of this, I suspect. Remember the OIG is not a bunch of leftists. This is the department of Justice reporting on itself.
BTTT The AP needs to print and apology and send notice to media outlets that they screwed up.
From wcco.com:
Bush Offers Good Wishes To Clinton For Speedy Recovery
Sep 4, 2004 9:27 am US/Central
NOTE: This is a correction to an incorrect story posted by AP on Friday stating the crowd booed the President when he sent his good wishes. The crowd, in fact, did NOT boo.
President Bush on Friday offered former President Bill Clinton, who faces heart bypass surgery, "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."
"He is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally.
Bush offered his wishes while campaigning one day after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New York. Clinton was hospitalized in New York after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath.
Bush recently praised Clinton when the former president went to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait. He lauded Clinton for his knowledge, compassion and "the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."
© 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
September 4, 2004, Saturday
SECTION: WASHINGTON DATELINE
KR-ACC-NO: K0952
LENGTH: 891 words
HEADLINE: Clinton to undergo bypass surgery for artery blockages
BYLINE: By Seth Borenstein
BODY:
WASHINGTON _ Former President Bill Clinton, .....____snip for legal reasons___--> ***Both President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, wished the former president well during campaign appearances. Some in Bush's audience booed when he wished Clinton well, while those in Kerry's cheered.***
AP Retracts 'Clinton Booed' Story
NewsMax .com ^ | 9/04/04 | Carl Limbacher
Posted on 09/04/2004 8:54:18 AM PDT by kattracks
The Associated Press has retracted its Friday afternoon report that a crowd at a Bush rally in West Allis, Wisconsin booed when President Bush offered ex-President Clinton best wishes for a speedy recovery from coronary bypass surgery scheduled for next week.
In a report that moved on the AP wire at 9:27 a.m. Saturday, the AP said: "This is a correction to an incorrect story posted by AP on Friday stating the crowd booed the President when he sent his good wishes. The crowd, in fact, did NOT boo."
A transcript of Bush's remarks released by the White House noted applause after Bush's offered Clinton "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."
ABC Radio Network news also confirmed that the Clinton reference was applauded, not jeered.
In its original version of the story, the AP had reported: "Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them."
The erroneous report prompted a firestorm of outrage on interactive news web sites like FreeRepublic.com, where posters complained of media bias and circulated contact numbers to protest the AP's false claim.
In a revised version of the story that moved on the wire late Friday, the AP said: "The crowd reacted with applause and with some 'ooohs,' apparently surprised by the news that Clinton was ill."
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread
Associated Press writers Ron Fournier and Frank Eltman in New York, David Hammer in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Marc Humbert in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.Hmmm, there's no New York, WI, and I don't think anyone has ever made it from on the ground in West Allis to on the ground in New York (or Arkansas) in less than 30 minutes.
I know.
And I'm very familiar with Belling. We used to live in Milwaukee!
Next target; Knight Ridder
I have no time today. Let people know Knight Ridder is passing off the bogus info as well if you can.
Associated Press -- Milwaukee, WI Bureau
Website: www.ap.org
Phone: (414) 225-3580
Fax: (414) 225-3599
Address: 918 N 4th St Milwaukee, WI 53203
I hear you. Yesterday when I heard this I was outraged.
Let's review what was "reported":
"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said. Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wisconsin, booed.
There is no mistaking it. The intent was to make it sound like the entire place erupted in rude and mean boos. They cannot pass it off as well a few booed (and there is zero evidence of even that having taken place.
But then the AP isn't finished:
Bush did nothing to stop them.
This is sickening, the image they were painting in the minds of the reader. It is just as you say; vicious.
"The most trusted busted name in news" CNN.
Thank you FreeRepublic!
Why doesn't Bush sue their a$$es off??? The media needs to know they are held accountable and their are limits to their freedom.
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