Politico has an in-depth look at changes at the Washington bureau of The Associated Press. Under new leader Ron Fournier, the bureau is focusing on "accountability journalism." The Politico article describes that like so:

Reporters are encouraged to throw away the weasel words and call it like they see it when they think public officials have revealed themselves as phonies or flip-floppers.

First-person pieces and more analytical writing are encouraged as well. Politico dutifully notes that not everyone likes the changes at the AP. Elsewhere, Talking Points Memo (among others) has been critical of the wire service's recent coverage of the presidential campaign.

UPDATE: Doug Fisher at Common Sense Journalism discusses AP's new direction in a first-person and analytical piece. A former AP man himself, Fisher beat my post on this news by a couple of hours.