Two AP writers, Two different articles, EXACT same words.

[fliesincircles]

First noticed these reading my local paper, but then found that these two articles were widely spread.

First an article titled "Insurgents Kill at Least 30 in Iraq"
By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/ap/20050207/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Fam "writes",

"The attacks were the latest sign that insurgents are stepping up attacks against Iraq's security forces, which the United States hopes can assume a greater role in fighting the rebels once a newly elected government takes office."

In a second article titled "4 Egyptians seized in Iraq ambush"
By Jason Keyser, Associated Press.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/02/07/4_egyptians_seized_in_iraq_ambush/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+World+News

Keyser "writes",

"The attacks were the latest sign that insurgents are stepping up attacks against Iraq's fledgling security forces, which the United States hopes can assume a greater role in fighting the rebels once a newly elected government takes office."

Fam "writes",

"The violence and kidnappings raise new concerns about security following a brief downturn in violence after the Jan. 30 elections, when Iraqis chose a new National Assembly in the first nationwide balloting since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in April 2003."

With apparent psychic accuracy, Keyser "writes",

"The violence and kidnappings raise new concerns about security after a brief downturn in violence since the Jan. 30 elections, when Iraqis chose a new National Assembly in the first nationwide balloting since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003."

But don't order yet there's more!! Their take on Iraq's elections, their phone calls to police, the denial by a US spokeswoman, are all "written" verbatim. A true example of Real Time propoganda.

[bobbobbins]

1. As Vanilla Ice would say...Its not the same...

that one little beat in there is different

[Liberty Belle]

2. Forward to Media Matters, please.

These could be more GOP plants writing up RNC press releases, just like the guy from Talon News who Media Matters caught doing that. They're working on getting his WH press credentials revoked.'

www.mediamatters.org

[Al-CIAda]

15. Yes, anytime you see something like this, send it to MEDIA MATTERS

[fliesincircles]

16. Done. n/t

[Liberty Belle]

21. Good! Let's see what Media Matters unearths on these two.

[KurtNYC]

3. ECHO, Echo, echo......

I see they are both AP writers -- perhaps they should be covering the negotiations to free that toy soldier.

[fliesincircles]

6. AP resume must include

CUT and PASTE

[blm]

4. Karl Rove's wording, no doubt.

Spin, Spin, Spin it FOR the war and Bush.

[Spazito]

5. Hmmm, good catch!

Certainly makes one wonder if there are more 'Armstrong Williams' out there, paid to regurgitate the bush cabal's propaganda, doesn't it.

[fliesincircles]

10. Add Fam and Keyser

to the list. Doubt this is a coincidence.

[opihimoimoi]

7. Holy Bat Shit....something surely stinks and it ain't the Bat Shit...

Its COPY MAN,,,,or.... is it deeper....?..... like its coming from a higher source???

Someone got lazy and let this one slip thru....

[shrike]

8. Reporters are known to plagiarize from each other

And from press releases -- you're in a hurry, you pull paragraphs from an official release. You're not supposed to do it, but it is done.

[Ganja Ninja]

9. I guess when you sit in a hotel all day and can't get out an cover

a story you tend to get a little lazy. They're supposed to cover their tracks better than this.

[fliesincircles]

11. Lazy maybe.

I can see the writers being lazy(or more likely scared shitless), but for these articles to appear in the WaPo, Boston Globe, yahoo, and who knows where else, that's alot of lazy editors.

[robbedvoter]

12. Maybe it's the WH press release guy who should be paid, rather

than the other way around. And while at it, make it only one paper: the Rove Gazette" and be done with it all faster. Make subscriptions mandatory too.

Hooray for the free market! I guess there was a demand for them words, non?

[izzybeans]

13. AP wires

News orgs. subscribe to "the wires". When they pick the AP or Knightridder to frame a story this is what they get. Some papers actually just attribute the story to the AP, some put their own face on it with a local writer, and others don't simply regurgitate the wire. Hopefully the last option becomes more prevalent in the future. This is a combination of propaganda being fed through the AP wire and journalistic laziness characteristic of the MSM.

[fliesincircles]

14. By-lines

Both stories are attributed to authors. Fam and Keyser. That's what jumped out. The AP didn't even try to pass it off as a wire story. I started checking different online papers(Omaha, St. Paul, Cleveland, etc.) and one if not both of these stories appear EVERYWHERE.

This is a more blatant example of this practice.

[izzybeans]

17. If these people did get it from the wire

then they could easily be out of a job. I guess I saw the words Associated Press and just assumed it came from a wire. I've seen reporters basically restate the wire and sometimes plagiarize it so I guessed that must be it.

If not, then the scenario is far worse.

[fliesincircles]

18. They ARE the wire.

Fam has been an AP writer since at least '03, and Keyser has been an AP writer since at least '00. Every paper I've checked today has one of these stories. Betcha its even in your hometown paper.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

19. Good work. The Mighty Wurlitzer of CIA's Operation Mockingbird still plays

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MOCK/mockingbird.html
(Operation Mockingbird: The Subversion of the Free Press by the CIA)

http://www.namebase.org/news17.html
(Journalism and the CIA: The Mighty Wurlitzer)

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-overclass.html
(The Origins of the Overclass)

>snip<

Journalism is a perfect cover for CIA agents. People talk freely to journalists, and few think suspiciously of a journalist aggressively searching for information. Journalists also have power, influence and clout. Not surprisingly, the CIA began a mission in the late 1940s to recruit American journalists on a wide scale, a mission it dubbed Operation MOCKINGBIRD. The agency wanted these journalists not only to relay any sensitive information they discovered, but also to write anti-communist, pro-capitalist propaganda when needed.

The instigators of MOCKINGBIRD were Frank Wisner, Allan Dulles, Richard Helms and Philip Graham. Graham was the husband of Katherine Graham, today’s publisher of the Washington Post. In fact, it was the Post’s ties to the CIA that allowed it to grow so quickly after the war, both in readership and influence. (8)

MOCKINGBIRD was extraordinarily successful. In no time, the agency had recruited at least 25 media organizations to disseminate CIA propaganda. At least 400 journalists would eventually join the CIA payroll, according to the CIA’s testimony before a stunned Church Committee in 1975. (The committee felt the true number was considerably higher.) The names of those recruited reads like a Who's Who of journalism:

* Philip and Katharine Graham (Publishers, Washington Post)
* William Paley (President, CBS)
* Henry Luce (Publisher, Time and Life magazine)
* Arthur Hays Sulzberger (Publisher, N.Y. Times)
* Jerry O'Leary (Washington Star)
* Hal Hendrix (Pulitzer Prize winner, Miami News)
* Barry Bingham Sr., (Louisville Courier-Journal)
* James Copley (Copley News Services)
* Joseph Harrison (Editor, Christian Science Monitor)
* C.D. Jackson (Fortune)
* Walter Pincus (Reporter, Washington Post)
* ABC
* NBC
* Associated Press
* United Press International
* Reuters
* Hearst Newspapers
* Scripps-Howard
* Newsweek
* magazine Mutual Broadcasting System
* Miami Herald
* Old Saturday Evening Post
* New York Herald-Tribune

[madfloridian]

20. I don't think papers can change or question what AP or Reuters puts out.

Maybe I am wrong on this. I can not find the letter I got from a reporter about AP...but it was basically the same as this one. Note the wording.

"Thank you for your recent letter to Forbes.com.

Unfortunately, since the article is from Reuters, we cannot elaborate,
clarify or alter the information they provided therein or forward it to
the appropriate writer for comment. If you like, you can direct you
questions or comments to www.reuters.com. We apologize for not being
able to help you further.

Thanks again for writing and we hope you continue to enjoy Forbes.com."

I had an email from a reporter saying basically the same about AP...wonder if it is true or a cop-out? Why can't they question news services? Isn't that strange?

[RealDems]

22. Frightening...

but not surprising.

[FrenchieCat]

23. They got their lines from the White House....

Pure and simple. They are so lazy, they don't even bother to change the shit around a little. How tacky!

But I'm not at all surprised. AP writers are some of the worst offenders in biased media reporting.

You should send this to media matters.....David Brock could bring it up on Air America. That might help some.

Unaware folks believe AP as though it was their News Bible.

It's about time to blow the whistle on them.

Next we need to get rid of Newsweek, MSNBC, WAPO, NBC, ABC, CNN, Time Magazine, Fox, Drudge......as they all feed on one another. They also like to start rumors and pass them around to each other...until they start quoting each other as though they are talking about real news.

Our media is more than just corporate owned....it's become a f*cking propaganda mouthpiece that blatant and totally bold.

My sig used to be "The American media smells like 10 year old French Camembert". That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.