Chris Graff (ousted VT AP Bureau chief) makes statement

[wtbymark]

It will air on "Vermont This Week" tonight at 7:30 and sunday afternoon

This is off the teleprompter:

Finally, tonight, a personal note. As many of you have heard or read, as of Monday of this week, I no longer work for the Associated Press. It has been difficult, after twenty-seven-and-a-half years of covering the news for the AP, to find myself making it instead. Even more ironically, considering how often over the years I have been frustrated by someone’s “no comment,” I am unable at the moment, for legal reasons, to comment on the circumstances of my departure.

However, I can say that my family and I have been overwhelmed and deeply touched by all the people who have responded with support and who have had such nice things to say about my work over the years.

That work will continue - on this program for instance - as you have hopefully come to expect and appreciate it. For three decades it has been an honor to tell the story of Vermont and the stories of Vermonters to a regional, national, and sometimes international audience and I feel blessed.

For Vermont This Week, I’m Chris Graff – good night.

[MADem]

1. Why was he fired?

Editor and Publisher asks this very question. Anyone have a clue???


NEW YORK Vermont’s two U.S. Senators and congressman, and the state's governor, have sent a letter to Associated Press CEO Tom Curley, asking that he explain why long-time journalist Christopher Graff was fired on Monday, and that he be reinstated to his post.

Graff, 52, has covered state politics for three decades, hosted a TV show, and served most recently as chief of the AP bureau in Montpelier. He has declined requests by E&P and other media outlets to talk about reasons for his departure, citing legal issues, and reportedly has hired a lawyer.

Speculation has centered on Graff's decision to run a "Sunshine Week" opinion piece by one of the state's U.S. senators, Patrick Leahy, a leading Democrat. ...

The Guardian also observed: "Editors at several Vermont papers, who are members of AP, say that an op-ed piece penned by Leahy on the AP news wire was recalled earlier this month after it was sent out to papers by the Vermont bureau as part of its editorial package focusing on Sunshine Week. Sunshine Week is a time when the news media focuses on issues related to the public’s right to know and open government."