Jim Salter

Unlike NY Times, AP's Salter Fails to Directly Acknowledge That Man Arrested in Fergsuon Cop Shootings Is Black
By Tom Blumer | March 15, 2015 | 11:09 PM EDT

Here is a clear case of media reluctance to acknowledge a drop-dead obvious fact — one even the often fact-averse New York Times has admitted.

In an 8:40 p.m. report tonight, Jim Salter at the Associated Press spent eight paragraphs avoiding any mention of the race of Jeffrey Williams, the 20 year-old man arrested today and charged in connection with the shooting of two Ferguson, Missouri police officers on Thursday. Finally, in paragraph 9, the AP reporter only partially relented, writing that "Williams, who St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said is black, is being held on $300,000 bond." An easily found mugshot of Williams relating to a prior arrest indicates that the law enforcement system classified him as black six months ago:

At Least Seven AP Reporters Violated Their Own Stylebook in Describing 18 Year-Old Michael Brown As a 'Teen'
By Tom Blumer | August 19, 2014 | 2:40 PM EDT

Kudos to Ed Driscoll at PJ Media, Eddie Scarry at Mediaite, and likely others in pointing out that the Associated Press has frequently violated its own stylebook in describing Michael Brown, the 18 year-old who was fatally shot in a scuffle with police in Ferguson, Missouri, as a "teen" or "teenager."

The AP's latest stylebook, in sync with the one I have from over a decade ago, states that reports should (italics is theirs) “use man or woman for individuals 18 and older." The violations have been pervasive, and have likely occurred since Brown died on August 9. Let's start with the specifics at Mediaite (most bolds are mine; links are in original):