The Scoop - December 5, 2016
Posted by Heather Rutz on Dec 06, 2016
AP covers the world.
You don’t get much more mainstream media than this: On any given day, half of the world’s population consumes news from the Associated Press.
Created during the Mexican War to speed receiving news, the AP now works in 280 locations around the globe and files 2,000 stories a day, AP Regional Director East Eva Parziale told a Rotary audience Monday.
A graduate of Bowling Green University, Parziale worked in newspapers as a reporter and editor before joining the AP. In 1999, she was named Ohio AP bureau chief, and in 2012 named director of the United States east region, which includes 11 states from Michigan to Maine.
Parziale focused much of her remarks on how the Associated Press covers elections.
Parziale said the AP relies on the work of its media member organizations, and that without them, there is no way the AP could cover the world in the way it does. The AP is especially busy at election time, dating back to 1848, the first time the country’s state’s voted on the same day, she said.
This past Election Day, the AP declared winners in 5,000 races across the country, with 99.9 percent accuracy. The news organization filed 250,000 updates in 12 hours. AP is the traditional “caller” of election winners.
“I’ve been an election caller since 1992,” Parziale said.
In the Kerry-Bush election, Ohio mattered a great deal. Karl Rove pressured the AP to call Ohio for President George W. Bush on election night, but the AP would not, Parziale said, because of outstanding votes, including provisional ballots. By the next morning, it was clear a deficit could not be made up, and the Kerry campaign conceded Ohio.
This year, Ohio was not in suspense; the AP called Ohio for Donald Trump at 10:30 p.m. The AP called the election for Trump at 2:29 a.m. Wednesday, beating all other news organizations and TV networks.
“Even though they are our partners, we’re really competitive,” Parziale said. “We do things like count the minutes.”
The AP is selling an e-book , “Divided America,” for $2.99 on Amazon. The book is filled with reporting on this year’s national election, and proceeds are going to the National Freedom of Information Center.
In other Rotary business Monday:
The Rotary Foundation presented grant checks totaling $5,925 to Barbers Give Bikes, Family Promise of Lima/Allen County, and Boy Scouts Black Swamp Council.
Dick Schroeder gave a Paul Harris Fellows presentation, noting that Charity Navigator now gives Rotary Foundation the highest achievable score, 100 points. New Paul Harris Fellows are Jill Ackerman, Steve Barker, John Ficorilli, Kurt Neeper, Maria Sanko and Dale Lewellen. Moving up to Level II support are Drew Fields and Dave Frost.
Drew Fields is asking for Salvation Army red kettle bell ringing help for Dec. 17 at Lima Mall.
