Paul Colford, an inexhaustibly curious journalist and author who covered the media business for decades before seeing it from another vantage point as The Associated Press' chief spokesperson, has died. He was 71.

Colford, who retired from the AP in 2017, died Aug. 26 after a fall the previous month turned a long struggle with Parkinson's disease into a rapid decline, said his wife, Anne LaBate. Despite his health problems, he was working even in recent months on his third book, about a notorious figure from his hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey.

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During a decade as AP's director and ultimately vice president of media relations, Colford was known for his sage, unflappable handling of the news cooperative's dealings with other media outlets, from requests for intervie

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