Posted on 02/09/2005 11:10:04 AM PST by hipaatwo
Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28), long time champion of media reform and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, sent a letter to President George W. Bush today asking him to explain how discredited "reporter" Jeff Gannon was credentialed as a member of the legitimate media by the White House.
The letter follows: Wednesday, February 9, 2005 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James "JD" Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News. According to several credible reports, "Mr. Gannon" has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that "Mr. Gannon" is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the "news" he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.
Several weeks ago when it was revealed that radio/TV host Armstrong Williams had received payment from your Administration in exchange for his vocal support of the 'No Child Left Behind' initiative, I was stunned. For years now I have been leading the fight in Congress for fairness and accountability in the media; the Williams revelation only underscored the need for a media that has integrity, is balanced and expresses the local interests and concerns of its consumers. Since that time, two more members of the media have been found to have received money from your Administration in exchange for their vocal, yet undisclosed support of Administration policies. And just this morning we have learned that "Mr. Gannon" has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that "Mr. Gannon's" presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration. Mr. President, I am sure we both agree the White House Press Corps is an honored institution in America that should be beyond the scope of partisan meddling, and that a free and independent media is the cornerstone of our success as a democracy.
Likewise, I am sure we can both agree the American people have the right to expect that journalists who question their President everyday are experienced, independent, and perhaps most importantly, unbiased in their approach. I was already concerned about what appears to be an organized campaign to mask partisan propaganda as legitimate news by your Administration. That we have now learned this same type of deception is occurring inside the White House briefing room itself is even more disturbing.
That is why I am asking you to please explain to the Congress and to the American people how and why the individual known as "Mr. Gannon" was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps? Mr. President, your Administration has driven the so-called "values" debate in this country. But the most important value for those of us in public service should always be honesty and integrity, particularly when considering the manner in which we conduct our affairs of state.
I would appreciate your prompt response on this matter. Respectfully, /LMS Louise M. Slaughter Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules
From the Niagara Falls Reporter on Monday, February 7, 2005 AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUISE SLAUGHTERDear Rep. Slaughter, As a small newspaper located in your district, we are asking for your help. It has come to our attention that an individual who calls himself "Jeff Gannon" has been credentialed by the White House to attend press briefings and presidential news conferences.
He is affiliated with an organization called Talon News, and is frequently called on by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and President Bush. This individual has no background in journalism whatsoever, and his "syndicated column" appears solely on his personal Web site, www.jeffgannon.com. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, "Jeff Gannon" isn't even his real name. In his biography at the Talon News site, where he holds the title of "Washington Bureau Chief," he claims to be a graduate of the "Pennsylvania State University System" and the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism. While the 23 schools in the Penn State system award diplomas, the system itself does not, and the Daily News investigation has thus far failed to turn up a "Jeff Gannon" who holds a degree in education from Penn State, as this person claims he does. Furthermore, the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism is a right-wing diploma mill where anyone with $50 and two days to waste can receive a degree. As for Talon News itself, it seems to consist solely of a Web site that links directly to a Republican site called www.gopusa.com.
Both Talon and GOPUSA have the same mailing address, a private residence in Texas. It isn't clear whether anyone at Talon News is paid, as one portion of its site asks, "Want to join the Talon News team? Click here to find out more about being a volunteer reporter for Talon News." Looking at the staff biography section of the site, none of the 10 individuals listed appear to have any training or previous experience in journalism, although all list credentials as Republican activists.
We respectfully ask your office to look into how a partisan political organization and an individual with no credentials as a reporter -- and apparently operating under an assumed name -- landed a coveted spot in the White House press corps. Sincerely, Bruce Battaglia, publisher, Mike Hudson, editor in chief, Rebecca Day, senior editor, David Staba, sports editor, Bill Gallagher, national correspondent, John Hanchette, senior correspondent, Frank Thomas Croisdale, contributing editor, Bill Bradberry, contributing editor, Niagara Falls Reporter.
Follow the link. She refers to this article on her own website.
And my source is at the Daily News, and checked the archives personally.
Well nice to see that you are finally noticing what the left is doing
i know my people's history. the democrats were the party of lester maddox, orval faubus, theodore bilbo, david duke, george wallace, even nathan forrest.
lincoln freed us, grant saw the 14th amendment passed, eisenhower enforced the scotus rulings in 'brown', and everett dirksen and the gop saw the civl rights and voting rights acts passed in the face of democratic filibuster threats.
yeah, the democrats are the friends of the black man, ain't they?
I notice it just fine. I also follow up when I can and fact-check.
I would like to task you, if you accept the challenge, to launch an article/thread that details the emerging SlaughterGate. She is attempting to defraud the American People, and it is about time she is held accountable. Perhaps we can get Congress to sanction her! I will help by keeping the thread bumped, and helping orchestrate calls to have her sanctioned.
Already suggested. I would hope folks wouldn't pester them further, this isn't their doing.
I demand an investigation into myself. I demand attention damn it.
I'll do that within a couple of hours. I'm still running down some stuff on this one.
I just clicked on the link and her site is down now? Or is it me. Can someone check?
Gee, do you think it's because the Boston Globe story identified David Brock and his company?
Dateline Feb 2, 2005
"David Brock, the former investigative journalist who made his name revealing aspects of former President Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs, said he was watching last week's press conference on television and the "soup lines" question sparked his interest because it "struck me as so extremely biased." Brock asked his media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, to look into Talon News."
I checked - looks like the link is down. That didn't take long.
I find your feigned disgust at the "partisan journalist" laughable. It is because "journalists" of your ilk, who slant and spin every word I say and every action I take, that I have to find other methods of getting my real agenda out to the public.
Perhaps if you could go back to journalism school and review the "ethics" classes, you may remember what it means to be an actual genuine JOURNALIST. Let me refresh your memory: Journalsts are here to report the news. Journalists are not elected officials and they are not here to support an agenda and/or serve carefully crafted propaganda to the American public. If you could remember that, we could all get along and efforts such as the one you are concerned about wouldn't ever take place.
W.
Yes, I believe Free Republic ought to be given a WH Press Pass - how about Jim Rob or Doug from Upland? I think FR is a valuable media outlet and one that even Rush and Shaun have accessed for their own shows. Of course, either one of these guys would shake things up a bit if they could get a press pass - can you imagine Rush or Shaun in a WH press conference? HA! What fun THAT would be huh? Of course, I wanted Bush to hire one of these 2 for his press secretary after Ari left, but he chose Scott McClellan to downplay the whole thing!
So only right wingers can get diplomas? Ridiculous.
I just got back home but agree with your #46 exactly.
They've got a thread on DU linking to a lot of his posts here on FR having to do with Plame.
I just got through.
Maybe the Freepers in our DC Chapter can get one of their members credentialed as a member of WH press corps. Then we can have someone report on how the WH Press Corps operates. This is a news commentary group, isn't it?
Well, Laz, it looks like you were right about that poster. He screwed up.
If I knew that is all it took, in the 90's I would have paid $200 and created dogNews, and pestered the sinkmaster.
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