AP Mum on identity of falsifying reporter

WorldNetDaily ^ | September 7, 2004 | Les Kinsolving

[andyk]

After falsely reporting that a crowd President Bush was speaking to booed after he wished President Clinton a speedy recovery from heart surgery, the Associated Press has refused to identify the reporter who filed the story or say what punishment he or she might face.

The original report stated: "A crowd at a Bush rally in West Allis, Wis., booed when President Bush offered ex-President Clinton best wishes for a speedy recovery from coronary bypass surgery scheduled for next week."

Milwaukee talk radio stations WTMJ and WISN were first to debunk the report.

At WTMJ, talk-show host Jeff Wagner's producer, Dan Walsh said, "We carried the President's speech live, which included the applause for his best wishes for Clinton's recovery. There was no booing and we had a large number of calls deploring what AP reported."

At Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, communications director John Brain said, "We received lots of outraged calls about AP, which put this untruth on their national wire. West Allis is a Milwaukee suburb and two Milwaukee talk-radio stations, WISN and WTMJ, played what was undoubtedly applause and not booing."

On the day after its original report had been circulated nationwide, AP sent out the following correction:

"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."

Telephone inquiries to the AP in both Washington and New York – as to who was the reporter who put this falsehood on their national wire – resulted in references to higher authority.

On Sunday afternoon at 5:46 p.m. Eastern, Jack Stokes, director of media relations of the Associated Press, sent an e-mail that stated:

"The Associated Press does not comment on personnel issues."

To which Milwaukee Bush-Cheney's Brain responded:

"Can you imagine most corporations responding like this?"

So, the identity of just which AP reporter put this falsehood on their national wire will remain concealed by the world's largest news-gathering service.

None of the media that depend on AP for news will be allowed to know who did this, or whether he or she has been fired for this nationally circulated falsehood.

A transcript of Bush's remarks released by the White House noted applause after Bush 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."

[Socratic]

"I just received the identical email back from him too."

Hopefully, in the future he won't take some AP Republican-bashing comment and gratuitously incorporate it into a Knight-Ridder story. (Especially without attribution).

[Paleo Conservative]

His name is Tom Hays.

Here is his contact info:

Tom Hays
Associated Press
212-587-8035
thays@ap.org

Read this Free Republic thread:

Booing the AP(AP reporter ID'ed using Lexis-Nexis)

[broadsword]

The AP lies and protects its sacred fellow liars.

[KingKongCobra]

It is NOT Tom Hayes. He;s in New York and has been all week. He got a feed from (most likely) Scott Lindlaw which he simply repeated in an article with his byline. The original feed was published nearly 2 hours before Mr. Hayes repeated it. The original feed had no byline. Unfortunately, the blogger who did a Nexus search did not look deep enough to find the original feed.

HERE is a link to the very first story from Friday where Mr. Lindlaw is fingered long before the Hayes story was even written.

[KingKongCobra]

Not Tom Hayes - wrong guy.

[andyk]

I think that is as close to an apology as you will see from the major news services

On that, there's no doubt! :)

[andyk]

I tried posting all the relevant info, but I suppose I don't use a big enough font!

[KingKongCobra]

Thanks for the ping. You had it all. I just added a link to provide the details.

[thucydides]

I sent a polite email 2 days ago to Mr. Hays asking him what was his role in this matter, and pointing out the need to give an explanation to the public as to what happened. He has not responded.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

It seems Freedom of Speech is always to be considered a right and then the Freedom of the Press. But, shouldn’t we have right to be told the truth by the press? Does this not have a precedent?

Freedom of speech and of the press is incompatible with a requirement that we be told the truth.

It is strictly a "caveat emptor" situation.

In fact if someone tells you that he is objective you may be quite certain that he is a self-righteous fraud. The honest person will tell you why you should suspect that he might not be objective.

Of course, the FCC license is predicated on the conceit that the licensees will broadcast in the public interest - but that has in practice meant only that broadcast journalists herd along with the print journalists. And in practice the print journalists herd together to avoid flame wars which would be "bad PR."

[NewLand]

Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 9:28 PM
To: 'thays@ap.org'
Cc: 'info@ap.org'; 'adalton@knightridder.com'; 'tcurley@ap.org'
Subject: I Support You...

I support you’re being fired for your intentional efforts to manipulate information to support your own personal political agenda, while hiding under the guise of objectivity. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Your organization should also be ashamed for their transparent intent to selectively edit and manipulate news on a regular basis to support the collective political agenda of the AP corporate management.

The old media is on the way out…AP included. You are merely accelerating your demise with such unethical actions.

[Wissa]

My email to Mr. Borenstein

Mr Borenstein,

I read an email that you wrote to various parties regarding complaints about the Friday story on Bush supporters booing. I tried looking at the story you reference in your email, but couldn't pull it up.

A couple of thoughts ran through my mind when I read your email. You mention that there is "some web site that vilifies reporters". I'm not aware of one like that, but I DO get my news from one where there is a strong dislike of people that will intentionally lie in order to change the future of this country.

George Orwell wrote a long time ago "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." There is a concern among many people (myself included) that there are some elements in the print media that would choose to alter the future by putting false or misleading stories out into the public consciousness.

You seem to be saying in your email that you're an innocent victim of an incorrect report on AP. I don't see anything in your comments that suggests that you were UPSET with AP for making up a story. Likewise, I don't see anything in your comments that suggests that in the future you won't continue to quote information from an obviously unreliable source.

You say that it is "not some case of media bias or whatever. This was not a case of me being a liar, but a simple fallable human who makes a mistake." I trust that you're being honest in saying that you didn't know that the story was false when you used it. If you're honest though, you ought to concede that SOMEBODY damned well intentionally lied.

I can understand if you're upset that you're taking the heat for what somebody else wrote. However, it seems to me that it would make more sense for you to be upset with the organization (AP) that put you in this spot, than to be upset with those people that criticize you for in turn disseminating falsehoods.

[Socratic]

Wonderfully written and SO spot-on! I too believe that we have passed the point of mere liberal bias to the current state of affairs where there is a concerted effort to actively promote a socialist government (or worse) in America. I appreciate your efforts.

[TaxRelief]

I was sure I saw the name TOM HAYS on the first "draft".

We should go back through every article he's written, and see what other lies he has told.

[TaxRelief]

Why would Tom Hays put his name on the story? That's a tad unusual, is it not?

[moonman]

If you believe no one at AP did a little ad-lib to the story, then I guess it wasn't Tom Hays if he's been in New York.

[moonman]

It was Tom Hays on the first post here. I e-mailed him and AP and called them on it.

[TaxRelief]

Are you aware that CNN has assigned two reporters, James Carville and Paul Begala, to help Kerry with his campaign?
Wasn't Campaign Finance Reform given a huge push by CNN?
As usual, the rules only apply to "everyone else".

[devolve]

If these self-annointed journalists all cover each other while only going after GW I see no reason why we cannot do a Form 180 on their personal history and professional record.



If they used coke 30 years ago are they still using it while writing an AP or Reuters or CBS story today?


I recall one CBS anchor who "allegedly" bragged in print about doing coke with his own kids -


I know university Republican and Conservative students have really upset their 99.9% faculties by "outing" them as radical lefties, Socialists, and Commies on websites.


I am starting to do the same with media and lefties in Congress.



Any "alleged" info will be published ad such "alleged" charge and the marketplace of thought and research can sort it all out.



Journalists have ways to cover their tracks; you are more likely located by GOOGLE on the web than a lib media reporter or editor is.
But I have my sources and the motivation.



Let;s give the press some "bigtime" publicity!

[TaxRelief]

Start with a "google groups" search on Tom Hays. I'd love to see a photo of him so I know who to avoid during press interviews.