[Moonmad27]

I saw this article yesterday morning on the AP wire service when I first checked about the shuttle at hearing at 6 AM-ish pacific time that there was a reported problem. It was poignant to see this article, especially that quote from David Brown, which I pointed out on a thread yesterday. To me it's the same as the live thread that got attention from the WSJ - a frozen moment in time, ironic, sad and interesting in retrospect.

[Vermont Lt]

The AP is not only a newpaper source, but a significant radio source as well. Radio newscasters, around the country, get updates throughout the morning. Writing stories such as this is very, very common. If you read it carefully, you will see that the content is pretty much cookie-cutter stuff.

Listen to morning radio when they talk about events from the night before. Usually, the first couple of broadcasts will have "stale" news. This is because the reporters are getting the stories written for the day. On most "non news talk" radio stations (those that play music, etc.) you will hear a group of stories, written in rotation, throughout the morning.

My wife is a radio newscaster, and has been for 20 years. They work hard--but they try to be efficient, like everyone else.

These are not conspiracies...and yes, many times the bulk of the story IS written before the event takes place. The who, where, when stuff is all fleshed out. The what and why is usually what has to wait. However, politicians have their speeches written and handed out before the events. This helps meet really tight deadlines.