At the Associated Press's Big Story page as of 10:25 a.m. ET (saved here for future reference), conditions relative to stories on Egypt are the same as I observed in the wee hours this morning: "That story (about Sunday's mass protest involving "millions" per several other news outlets) is no longer even present at all at the AP’s 'Big Story' home page."
You have to click on "View More" at the bottom of the "Latest News" section at the AP's "Big Story" page before you'll see a current story. Just to make sure, a browser search within the page on Mohammed Morsi's last name (as AP spells it) found nothing.
Meanwhile, two older stories about Egypt from Saturday are on the "Big Story" home page, including a clearly moldy "Tension rises ahead of Egypt protest."
The current story found there is pablum, both in the write-up and the content of President Obama's reaction (a separate story says that an announcement from the military is imminent):
OBAMA: POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE IN EGYPT REMAINS
President Barack Obama says protests in Egypt so far haven't included the level of violence many had feared. But he says the potential for such violence remains.
Obama says the U.S. is committed to democracy in Egypt, not any particular leader. He says Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was democratically elected. He says now Morsi's government must respect its opposition and minority groups.
He's calling for all sides to refrain from violence.
Obama says he's concerned about women being assaulted in protests. He's telling protesters that assaulting women doesn't count as peaceful protest.
And assaulting men does count as peaceful protest?
Meanwhile, back to AP: You guys aren't trying to cover for somebody, are you? (/obvious)
Elsewhere, like at CNN.com the headlines elsewhere are both encouraging and potentially ominous:
Protesters to Egypt's Morsy: You have one day to step down
Egyptians who helped overthrow a 29-year dictatorship in a widely hailed revolution have now given the country's first democratically elected president one day to step down from office.
I don't know what else you can conclude other than that AP, the Administration's Press, is deliberately playing down what is starting to look like one of the most important stories of the decade thus far, if not longer, for no valid journalism-based reason. It's acting like an organization which has been compromised. Maybe what was alleged seven years ago is (still) true.
What AP does and doesn't do with developments in Egypt will heavily influence what the rest of the U.S. press does and doesn't do.
Separately and in a different story, the AP's Julie Pace referred to the White House press corps covering the President's African adventure as "his press." No kidding.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
