AP’s Notes On Roman Polanski’s Arrest Leak Onto News Wires

Will Roman Polanski be extradited? Is he a misunderstood artist, or a rapist who should rot? Questions! But none as interesting as how the AP’s notes for the story landed on the pages of Forbes and the New York Times.

It’s true: our tipline has been blowing up with this story. Business Insider caught it before anyone on the front pages of Forbes. We got some pretty great screengrabs of it from the Times. Basically, instead of the Polanski story, this went up instead:

Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case
Associated Press, 09.27.09, 10:41 AM EDT

OK, can you do some more probing? New York will want to know
frank’s out today.
i checked already, and so did zurich. they say the question is irrelevant. he answered me with the quote i used, about we knew when he was coming this time. he’s been here many times in the past, we think.
thx brad. aptn is aware, but unfortunately won’t make it in time, but is hoping to catch tail end.
i’m pushing out another writethru with some more background details before press conference.
no surprise, new york is really hot on this.
they particularly want to know why now. (has he never set foot in switzerland before?) sheila, theorizes that’s because they’re under intense pressure over ubs and want to throw the U.S. a bone, but can you check with justice department sources there?
is frank around too, or are you alone?
u can tell aptn press conf 1700 (15 gmt) in bern at the parliament
i’ll watch it live on internet

Heh. Who uses the word “probing” anymore? Also, isn’t “probing” in relation to a rape story slightly off-color, even in notes? Maybe my mind’s in the gutter. Then again, I am in New York, and I would want to know, and want to know WHY. New Yorkers: we love a good Hollywood rape extradition saga! Also, looks like the AP gets stonewalled by those goddamn Swiss quite often. Also, good to know the AP likes to theorise about countries throwing one another “a bone” sometime before checking with Justice Department sources in Switzerland over whether or not they, you know, owe us one. The Associated Press: who needs to steal their content when they can just give us their notes instead?