Anchorage Daily News and Associated Press Miss Most Important Press Conference of Year

McClatchy Watch reports that the Anchorage Daily News and Associated Press reporters arrived late and didn't get to see Sarah Palin’s press conference announcing her coming resignation. Thus, missing the biggest Alaska story of the year.

Associated Press writer Rachel D’Oro, obliquely referred to her lack of attendance as “late-arriving media”:

“The former Republican vice presidential candidate hastily called a news conference Friday morning at her home in suburban Wasilla, giving such short notice that only a few reporters actually made it to the announcement. State troopers blocked late-arriving media outside her home, and her spokesman, Dave Murrow, finally emerged to confirm that Palin will step down July 26. He refused to give details about the governor's future plans.”

Also arriving late was Anchorage Daily News reporter Sean Cockerham. In fact, the Anchorage Daily News was stuck with no photos of their own and had to “borrow” their images as well as what Palin said from KTVA TV news footage–-whose news team managed to make it to the press conference on time. All nine of ADN’s posted photos are not good quality and noted as being “Screengrab from KTVA video”. Apparently the Anchorage Daily News isn’t savvy enough to check out the Alaska Governor’s site which posted two professional quality photos they could have used instead of “screengrabs”.

The official AP photograph of the event was taken by Robert DeBerry of The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman (a Wasilla semi-weekly newspaper) who, along with Frontiersman reporter Andrew Wellner, managed to be on time too.

Imagine the poor news organization whose White House reporters missed out on a “hastily called” Obama news conference that turned out to be the biggest story of the year because they arrived late. That rates right up there with other great excuses like “The dog ate my homework.”

Maybe being able to arrive on time is one of the differences between who gets assigned to the White House and who gets assigned to Alaska.