By Andrew L. Jaffee

Has the AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law been revised? I don’t know what the AP’s editors are doing, but they seem to have lost sight of the difference between news and editorials. No editor I’ve worked for would have permitted me such leeway as was displayed today in an AP “news” article entitled, “Iran tells U.N. nuclear program peaceful.” Here is the text I would have edited, if I were an editor at this pillar of journalism:

Bush spoke directly to the people of Iran saying America respects Islam, the Iranian nation’s rich history and culture and that he looks to a day when the two peoples “can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace.”

That’s very different from 2002 when Bush said Iran was part of an “axis of evil.”

When Bush spoke of an “axis of evil” in 2002, he was not indicting all Iranians of anything. He was speaking directly to Iran’s crazy Islamist rulers. Even a cursory examination of the president’s speeches or press releases on the White House’s website would clearly demonstrate that he bares no grudge against Iran’s oppressed populace. A phrase like, “That’s very different,” is loaded with connotations that belong only on the editorial page.

UPDATE 12:40 am: The AP edited the article, removing the sentence I pointed out above. But guess what, I cached a copy here (p. 1, p. 2, and p. 3; see below):