Heather Clark

Heather Clark is a writer for Associated Press working out of its bureau in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She normally covers issues concerning the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory and New Mexico elections for a national audience.

Clark came to some prominence for an article about the popularity of the word "truthiness", in which she failed to credit comedian Stephen Colbert for coining the word. Colbert later led a mock campaign boycotting Clark's work, and it created a small "controversy" among Colbert's fans and sympathizers in the blogosphere.

On January 14, Clark responded in an article titled "Exclusive 'News' - I'm dead to Stephen Colbert." [http://www.reflector.com/featr/content/shared-gen/ap/asap/Dispatches/asap_Dispatches_The_Truthiness_Hurts.html] She conceded, "Truthiness be told, I never had seen "The Colbert Report" until my name graced its 'Dead to Me' board this week....But I will say that I watched Colbert's show for the first time...It was funny. And that's not just truthy. That's a fact." On a less conciliatory note, she also said that "It's not like Stephen Colbert is a David Letterman or Jay Leno," "there's no way the Associated Press is a bigger threat to America than bears," and that the hundreds of Colbert fans concerned enough about "truthiness" to take the time to email her need to "get back to work...Who are you? Why are you wasting your time with this drivel?"

External links

* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002725801_words07.html The original article sparking the "controversy"]