| Peter L. DeCoursey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sept. 1, 1961 Philadelphia, PA |
| Education | William Penn Charter School Yale University (1984) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Children | 2 children |
| Notable credit(s) | Capitolwire |
Peter L. DeCoursey is a prominent reporter of political news in Pennsylvania.
DeCoursey worked as a press secretary for U.S. Rep. Bob Borski, D-Philadelphia, from late 1987 to late 1990, and for Philadelphia City Council for most of 1987. He first became a full-time reporter for the Reading Eagle-Times, in Reading, Pennsylvania in August 1990, leaving there to join The Patriot-News in March 1997. He worked as a political reporter and columnist for The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2005 before being hired by GovNetPA to produce original news content for Capitolwire.com.[1] He currently works as bureau chief of Capitolwire.[2] He appeared on Public Radio International's Whad'Ya Know in 2005[3] and CNN's Capital Gang in 2004.[4] He also appeared on Inside Politics on CNN in October 2004[5] He was first to report the 2011 proposal by Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, with the support of Gov. Tom Corbett, to change Pennsylvania from a winner-take-all electoral vote system, to a system that awards electoral votes by congressional district. On Sept. 16, writing of that proposal, politicspa.com wrote Sept. 16: "DeCoursey broke that news – the biggest non-presidential story of the summer – last Thursday." The New York Times, Washington Post, Politico and others followed that story.
In 2003, an article in the Lancaster Sunday News speculated that DeCoursey and Charlie Thompson, both then reporters for the Patriot-News, were operating the political website PoliticsPA under a pseudonym.[6] DeCoursey and Thompson both denied any involvement in the site, and Adams later wrote a correction.
In 2005, he was named one of "Pennsylvania's Most Influential Reporters" by the Pennsylvania political news website PoliticsPA.[7] In 2008, the political website PolitickerPA.com named him one of the "Most Powerful Political Reporters" in Pennsylvania.[8] The Pennsylvania Report named him to the 2009 "The Pennsylvania Report 100" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics and noted that his Capitolwire briefing is a "must read for all legislators, staff members, and lobbyists in the state capital," even if it is controversial due to DeCoursey's "attack dog reputation and his sometimes one-sided comments."[9] He was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Sy Snyder's Power 50" list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics in 2002.[10]
During the 2000 presidential election, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was known to be under consideration as the running mate for Republican George W. Bush. DeCoursey and fellow journalist Albert J. Neri began planning a book about Ridge and contracted with an agent to pursue a book deal in the event that he was selected.[11] After Ridge withdrew his name from consideration, both Neri and DeCoursey wrote columns blasting Ridge for pretending to be a candidate after he had withdrawn his name from consideration three weeks before announcing it.[11] Both contrasted that behavior with Ridge's well-deserved general reputation for honesty. Tim Reeves, Ridge's press secretary said that the situation was a "journalistic conflict of interest."[11] Veteran Philadelphia Inquirer editor and journalism professor at Pennsylvania State University Gene Foreman agreed, noting that the book deal was not disclosed and that the two columns seemed "particularly personal" and contained "pretty extraordinary" language.[11] In return, the editors of both newspapers that had carried the columns noted that they were aware of the book project and the Patriot-News consulted with Bob Steele of The Poynter Institute, who said there was no reason to disclose the potential book to readers.[11] The incident was covered in the American Journalism Review.[11]