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AP fires Bob Lewis, shocks Virginia

From my story on the Associated Press's decision to fire Bob Lewis:

The Associated Press has fired its veteran Virginia politics reporter Bob Lewis on the heels of his erroneous report about gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe — a move that came as a shock to the politicians and journalists who have worked with Lewis during his two-decade tenure in Richmond.

The decision, which was made Monday, came on the heels of an Oct. 9 report in which Lewis alleged that McAuliffe had lied to a federal official investigating a death benefits scam. The Associated Press retracted the story less than two hours after it went up, and Lewis immediately took responsibility for the mistake.

Dena Potter, the Richmond-based news editor who edited Lewis’s report, has also been fired. The news, first reported by Huffington Post, was confirmed by POLITICO on Monday afternoon.

Both Lewis and Potter did not respond to request for comment regarding their terminations. Paul Colford, the Associated Press director for communications, said the organization would not comment on personnel matters.

The move, according to sources familiar with the AP’s thinking, was meant to send a clear signal that such mistakes could not be tolerated by an international news organization that prides itself on accuracy.

But for those who had worked with Lewis, a highly respected veteran on the Richmond political scene, the AP’s decision was seen as an overreaction.

“I’m hard-pressed to see how this is the right response,” Michael Shear, The New York Times White House correspondent who spent more than five years in Richmond, told POLITICO. “I don’t know all the facts. But on the surface, this is not plagiarism, this is not fabrication, this is not some malicious thing. This is a mistake. He owned up to it. It’s hard to see, when you look on the spectrum of journalistic sins that one can commit — weighed against a career of two decades or more for a guy who has had stellar career — it’s hard to see how this is an appropriate punishment.”

“I’m just sick about it. Bob Lewis is one of the most respected, decent, hard-working, dogged reporters I’ve ever worked with,” said Amy Gardner, The Washington Post’s local politics editor, who has known Lewis for almost 20 years. “He made a mistake, but he admitted it. There are certain things where we shouldn’t have tolerance — cheating, lying, plagiarism infractions — but a mistake is a different beast from a lie or a stolen bit of work. At what point does a mistake become a non negotiable or fireable offense?”

The expressions of discouragement at the AP’s decision were similarly strong on Twitter, as was the outpouring of respect for Lewis — not just from fellow journalists, but from Virginia’s top politicians.

“Big loss for Virginia. @APBobLewis is an even-handed, talented reporter & a class act,” Sen. Tim Kaine wrote on Twitter within minutes of the news.

“AP’s Bob Lewis has been a fixture at the Va Capitol and his reporting will be missed by Virginians. Best wishes at a tough moment, Bob,” wrote Sen. Mark Warner.

“If journalism had a draft @APBobLewis and @DenaPotterAP would be early 1st round picks,” Tucker Martin, the Communications Director for Governor Bob McDonnell, wrote. “Huge talent now available media outlets: AP’s loss”

Read the full report here.