Albert J. "Al" Neri (September 1, 1952 – May 7, 2011) was a Pennsylvania political news correspondent, pundit, and political analyst. At the beginning of his career, Neri worked as a journalist following state and local government and politics for a variety of publications, including ''

Erie Times-News The ''Erie Times-News'' is a daily morning newspaper in Erie, Pennsylvania. It has a daily circulation of about 47,385 and a Sunday circulation of about 58,378. The beginning The newspaper was founded as the ''Erie Daily Times'' on April 12, 188 ...

'', the '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', the ''

Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...

'', the '' Philadelphia Business Journal'', and the '' Bucks County Courier-Times''. He has received a number of Keystone Press Awards, an award presented from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. He was quoted on the subject of Pennsylvania politics in '' The New York Times'', '' U.S. News & World Report'', the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Dail ...

'' and '' CNN''. He has appeared as a guest on a variety of statewide news television programs, including the ''Journalists' Roundtable,'' the state-syndicated ''Newsmakers'' program, and live call-in shows on the

Pennsylvania Cable Network PCN (the Pennsylvania Cable Network) is a private, non-profit cable television network dedicated to 24-hour coverage of government and public affairs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Built on the C-SPAN model, it features live coverage of ...

. He is also a frequent guest lecturer on Pennsylvania politics to trade associations and political organizations. During the 2000 presidential election,

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforc ...

Tom Ridge was known to be under consideration as the running mate for Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Neri and fellow journalist Pete DeCoursey began planning a book about Ridge and contracted with an agent to pursue a

book deal Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in the event that he was selected. After Ridge withdrew his name from consideration, both Neri and DeCoursey wrote columns blasting Ridge, since he had withdrawn his name from consideration three weeks before announcing it. Tim Reeves, Ridge's press secretary said that the situation was a "journalistic conflict of interest." Veteran '' Philadelphia Inquirer'' editor and journalism professor at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

Gene Foreman agreed, noting that the book deal was not disclosed and that the two columns seemed "particularly personal" and contained "pretty extraordinary" language. In return, the editors of both newspapers that had carried the columns noted that they were aware of the book deal and took steps to remove any impropriety. The incident was covered in the '' American Journalism Review.'' In 2001, Neri and political operative

John Verbanac John Verbanac is a businessman and political operative in Pennsylvania. Verbanic earned a B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh College of General Studies in 1990. He worked in government and politics in Washington, D.C., as a senior aide ...

founded NeriVerbanac Public Affairs, a Harrisburg-based political and media consulting organization. The two also founded '' The Insider,'' a subscription-based newsletter reporting on Pennsylvania politics. Verbanac left the organization in 2005 and Neri continued with a new consulting firm, Envoi Communications. The firm counts corporations and non-profit institutions as clients. Neri also worked as a consultant and columnist for GovNetPA, which hosts a searchable index of The Insider, and as managing director of Capitolwire after its purchase by GovNetPA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neri, Albert J 1952 births 2011 deaths Temple University alumni Journalists from Philadelphia American newspaper editors American newspaper reporters and correspondents Pennsylvania political journalists