The Associated Press is defending its coverage of a Navy SEAL who was killed this week in Iraq by claiming its news judgment compelled it to highlight the slain serviceman’s familial connection to a “disgraced” financier.
“When the SEAL’s identity was first released, that was news; the family is well-known, and if he came from any well-known family we’d highlight it,” an AP spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner’s media desk.
“As time went on, we learned more about the SEAL himself and focused on his details, with the family tie — which had already been reported by us and others — being less new and therefore becoming a lower element in the story,” she added.
Charlie Keating IV was killed in Iraq Tuesday in a gunfight with more than 100 Islamic State militants, according to Department of Defense officials.
The slain SEAL was part of a “quick reaction force” designed to punch through enemy lines in order to assist embattled allies. Keating’s team was tasked Tuesday with the mission of aiding a group of American military advisers.
Though Keating served with distinction in the United States Armed Forces, the AP dedicated much of its coverage to his familial connection to a financier who was involved a major savings and loan scandal in the 1980s.
“Keating’s grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., who died in 2014 at age 90, was the notorious financier who served prison time for his role in the costliest savings and loan failure of the 1980s,” the AP reported in a wire story now titled “Navy SEAL killed in Iraq was close to disgraced grandfather.”
Of the 17 paragraphs included in the original version of the AP report, five were dedicated to the scandal involving Keating’s grandfather.
The story’s opening line was also careful to mention the savings and loan scam.
That particular AP article has undergone several revisions, including multiple headline changes. One version of the story’s headline read, “Navy SEAL killed in Iraq Identified As Arizona Native,” another read, “Navy SEAL killed in Iraq loved grandfather despite scandal” and another still read, “Slain Navy SEAL known for family but made name as track star.”
The group’s spokeswoman explained in a note to the Examiner that, “AP headlines are routinely updated when covering developing stories.”
“A wire story is not static; it’s a single story that’s updated, revised as developments unfold and new information becomes available,” she added. “Same with the headline.”
The current headline to the Keating story reads: “Slain Navy SEAL took lessons from running track into combat.”
Some readers were not thrilled with AP’s editorial judgment.
“Nice AP hit piece headline on the Navy SEAL killed in Iraq,” said the Washington Free Beacon’s David Rutz.
The Media Research Center’s Tom Blumer meanwhile referred to AP’s reporting as a “smear” job.
