AP Bureau Chief Considered Job With McCain

Ron Fournier’s objectivity is being questioned yet again, as Politico reports that the AP’s Washington bureau chief was offered a senior position in the McCain campaign before returning to the wire service in March 2007. Fournier’s political leanings have been a hot topic lately, since a 2004 email surfaced in which the reporter told Bush adviser Karl Rove to “keep up the fight.”

McCain adviser Mark Salter says he wanted to hire Fournier for his expertise, and doesn’t know what the reporter’s political leanings are. But Media Matters says the AP’s coverage under Fournier has been distinctly right-leaning. Fournier has told reporters to use a more interpretive, blunt style. Once a hard news reporter, Fournier now writes mostly opinion and analysis. (More media bias stories.)