OPINION:
The Associated Press, in a near-unprecedented move for a mainstream news outlet, fired a freelance journalist it employed after it was discovered she posted anti-Donald Trump remarks on her Facebook page in 2016 — and then sneaked into a closed Republican event and reported negatively on Kellyanne Conway.
At least, that’s what the freelancer said — that the AP has now barred her from reporting on political matters.
Kudos due to the AP. Kind of.
The backstory is this, as first discovered by Breitbart: Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, was speaking at a fundraiser in New Hampshire that was closed to the press. But AP freelancer Melanie Plenda apparently sneaked into the event — and her subsequent reporting, according to New Hampshire Republican officials who spoke to WMUR Channel 9, was anything but fair and balanced. Basically, Plenda reported negatively on the “enthusiasm with which Kellyanne Conway was greeted,” as well as on other aspects of the event, said GOP adviser Patrick Hynes. It wasn’t long after that Breitbart discovered Plenda’s Facebook posts from November 2016, right after Trump won the election. She wrote, in part: “No more crying from me. Now is the time for action. We need to remember this feeling, the pain in our hearts, the fire in our bellies, because we need it to fight.” She also advocated for readers to “support the ACLU” and to “join advocacy groups” to fight the Trump-led White House.
Fast-forward to today. Plenda, in an interview with Erik Wemple with The Washington Post, announced she had been fired.
Wemple asked her outright if she had in fact written the partisan November 2016 Facebook post.
“There’s no denial from Plenda that she authored the tract in question,” Wemple wrote.
Wemple also wrote this: “The AP, [Plenda] continues, has barred her from future political assignments because of the posting.”
Apparently, AP’s journalism ethics prohibit those employed by the news wire from publicly sharing their political views.
You know, most news organizations do in fact have similar codes and policies for the news department. It’s not always, or even often, enforced — but once again, when it is, and by a mainstream outlet no less, kudos are due. Of course, it must be noted the AP didn’t take action until its hands were forced by all the negative reporting on the Base of Plenda’s Bias … but baby steps, baby steps.
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