Associated Press Won't Cover Fox News GOP Debate (UPDATED)

The Associated Press will not be covering Thursday’s Republican presidential debate “because of restrictions placed on media access,” according to an advisory the wire service sent out Wednesday night.

In the advisory, the news organization said it will boycott the debate because the event's sponsors, Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party, “will only allow photos to be taken in the moments ahead of the debate and not during the event itself."

From the AP statement:

These are restrictions that violate basic demands of newsgathering and differ from other debates where more access was granted. Accordingly, the AP will not staff the event in any format nor will the AP disseminate any pool photos taken by another outlet. This is consistent with longstanding policy exercised in coverage of many events.

Should access conditions change, the AP will reassess this decision and expedite a new coverage advisory if warranted.

A Fox News spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE: Politico reports that Reuters won’t cover the debate with a photographer, out of similar concerns about media access, but “did not confirm whether it would be going as far as AP and not filing text either.”

 

 

Comments

[ASHTON CRUZ]

07:54 PM on 06/13/2011

How about giving us the date, time and channels the debate will be aired on? Seriously, can you be more useless?

[Eyeful]

07:35 PM on 05/08/2011

"News organizations that intend to cover a presidential campaign should not be employing presidential candidates, period."

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/02/when-pundits-run-for-president/a-megaphone-problem

[Clevelandinwi]

05:25 PM on 05/08/2011

Why cover a joke?

[Kriol Kidd]

12:02 PM on 05/08/2011

Hasn’t anyone from the AP ever seen the movie They Live with Rowdy Rowdy Piper, as soon as those doors close everyone in the room will take off their masks and they will feast on the blood of orphaned puppies. Plus, Christian conservatives believe that cameras steal your soul......

[iconico62]

10:05 AM on 05/08/2011

Good for AP. Why waste resources to cover the bickering of people with no heart in front of people with no brains about things with no relevance? I'd rather watch paint dry. On a rainy day.

[computerguyllc]

12:26 PM on 05/07/2011

will737, I have never used violence, swearing OR racism in my comments. I am extremely sarcastic though. And seeing that you have not read my posts Get off your high-horse.

[BBinMT]

04:40 PM on 05/06/2011

The headline suggests there might be a modicum of credibility returning to the MSM. Then read the abbreviated article and you will find that real journalism is in fact extinct.

[Warren Lauzon]

10:22 PM on 05/06/2011

No kidding. Big headline, then we find out that AP is miffed because it can't take photos during the actual debate.

Huff sure seems to be leaning more and more into the National Enquirer camp for "news" headlines.

[GiantsFan44]

03:01 PM on 05/06/2011

Another question for the debate:
 
Does everybody know who Jeff Christie is and know they better keep it on the lowdown?

[sdesign]

02:07 PM on 05/06/2011

Saw part of it. Should have been on the comedy network.

[VonMarco]

01:01 PM on 05/06/2011

Fox distorts facts, the main stream media provide vagueness for ratings. In my view, news should be factual not opinionated.

[Warren Lauzon]

10:23 PM on 05/06/2011

What fact did Fox distort here?

[mannapat]

11:34 AM on 05/06/2011

Say, where was Donald Trump? Was his face too red to be shown on TV?

[David Silvey]

08:11 PM on 05/07/2011

He was still stinging from being booed and roasted then ignored. He is still hiding out licking his wounds.

[mannapat]

11:30 AM on 05/06/2011

...and so one day, Fox Snooze had a debate, and nobody cared!

[William Demuth]

08:46 AM on 05/06/2011

Once I had heard that SEAL Team Six was back in the States I decided to watch.

Since Obama had such a victory with his last usage of them, I was hoping they might "visit" the debate!

Now THAT would have been news worthy!

[swabby01]

06:21 PM on 05/06/2011

this liberal doesn't find that funny.

[William Demuth]

08:50 AM on 05/09/2011

My sincerest aplologies. I shall suspend further thought until I confer with you.

[kcin]

07:34 AM on 05/06/2011

And we are a nation that still thinks we have a "free press"...

Fox is just controlling the message, as usual. But it's nice to see the other media companies pushing back.

[Warren Lauzon]

10:24 PM on 05/06/2011

How is Fox controlling it? Because AP could not take pictures during the debate? Please explain to us how that is "control"?

[kcin]

07:59 PM on 05/07/2011

Because Fox is hosting the debates. They control the hosts, analysts, questions, the camera angles, the commentators.

What part of this is a mystery to you?

[JAT3]

07:05 AM on 05/06/2011

The GOP wasn't going to say anything factual, correct and with credit, just with a slant. It doesn't deserve to be covered! Plus given GOPs debate rules already tells you the "only" way you can view them? Hmmm their supposedly "good side"?
If thats not trying to control something, I don't know what is!