A Vermont newspaper publisher is threatening to quit the Associated Press unless he gets some answers on why the agency fired Christopher Graff, the veteran AP bureau chief in the state.

An excerpt from the March 29 story in the Vermont Guardian:

“It is with regret that I make this request, but it appears to be the best means by which I can register my displeasure with the Associated Press and its dismissal of Montpelier Bureau Chief Christopher Graff,” wrote Emerson Lynn (publisher of the St. Alban Messenger) in a March 25 editorial.

Lynn’s open letter marks the start of a new round of calls on Curley to explain Graff’s firing to the news organizations that are paying members of the AP cooperative. ...

In his editorial, Lynn asked AP to assure him that news reports linking Graff’s firing to a column written by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, which was critical of the Bush White House and keeping public records secret, were false. AP officials told Vermont politicians that claims the wire service bowed to political pressure was “nuts.”

“Anything less would make the AP look foolish as well as churlish and would give rise to what many already suspect, which is that the AP is looking to trim costs by identifying its veterans, its highest-cost employees,” said Lynn.

In fact, Lynn pointed to a letter circulating widely among AP members that was written earlier this year long-time AP writer Mort Rosenblum. In his letter to AP Chairman Burl Osborne Rosenblum calls into question AP’s business tactics of firing its seasoned veterans to cut costs.

“Since 2002, AP has fired, retired or otherwise squandered many centuries of hard-won experience and contacts. Valuable old hands live in fear of the ax. With so much busywork heaped on those left and constant second-guessing from New York, many young people who planned an AP career now look elsewhere,” Rosenblum wrote.

Hmmm. Maybe that's a better explanation. AP saw an opportunity to callously dump an experienced hand and and went for it.

In his Inside Track column on the Seven Days alt.news website, Peter Freyne wrote the following:

In the AP boss' response, which made the AP wire before any of the Big Four received a copy, Curley sarcastically thanked them for their letter, and their "sincere concern about Chris Graff, your deep understanding of the role of The Associated Press, and your steadfast support for the free flow of information."

Curley then proceeded to lecture the Vermont Big Four on the law and the many great journalistic achievements of the AP, writing, "You further suggested that AP might be bowing to political pressure. That's just nuts. The issue is purely one of internal policy." In a nutshell, the AP boss told the Vermont delegation to butt out.

On Monday, Newshounds -- www.newshounds.us -- a website that "watches Fox so you don't have to," posted a very interesting piece: "Vermont AP Reporter Who Opposed O'Reilly Has Been Fired."

Reporter Marie Therese recounted Fox "News" Bully Boy Bill O'Reilly's on-air attacks on Mr. Graff during his three-week January crusade to crucify District Court Judge Ed Cashman and all who defended him.

She also posted a 2004 AP press release confirming a business relationship between Fox "News" and Curley's AP. Maybe being on Bully Boy's hit list counted for more than anyone imagined?