Posted on 02/10/2005 4:03:00 PM PST by Dane
The rest:
BLITZER: When you say they harassed your family, what was going on?
GANNON: Well, the -- on -- I've been receiving threats. People have been stalking me in my neighborhood, have followed me to church, followed me down the street. And then there are phone calls and hate mail that I've gotten over the Internet.
And it's been very troubling. And when it went toward my family, then I said that I needed to put an end to it.
BLITZER: And when you say your family, could you be a little bit more...
GANNON: Well, I mean -- I mean my -- when my mother and my brother and his wife received telephone calls that -- you know, that contained threats and all kinds of terrible things being said about me, it's very disturbing. And that's way over the line. And I needed to put that to an end.
BLITZER: Because one of the things, as you know, that were said is that you had some sexually explicit Web sites that you were working on. I don't understand what that is, but maybe you could explain that.
GANNON: Well, several years ago, before I came to Washington, I had registered various domain names for a private client. I was doing Web site development. Those sites were never hosted. There's -- nothing ever went up on them. And the client went on to do something else.
There's been so much about me on the Internet that people have, you know, made assumptions about. And I just can't -- I don't even know them all and I can't address them all here.
BLITZER: I was going to say, were you there in the White House briefing room on a daily basis to try to change the subject, if you will, send softball questions to Scott McClellan, the press secretary? Or were you there as a real journalist trying to get the story?
GANNON: Well, Talon News is a legitimate conservative online news service. And my questions are things that my readers, 700,000 daily subscribed readers, want the answer to. And those are my questions.
I created the questions. Nobody fed questions to me. Scott McClellan certainly never knew what was coming. He knows -- he certainly knows...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Because you wore your politics on your sleeve. Everyone knew you were very conservative.
GANNON: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Why did you not get credentials, real credentials, from Capitol Hill from the U.S. Congress?
GANNON: Well, I made an attempt to do that originally when I was going to be covering Washington for Talon News. Our business -- Talon News' business model didn't fit the criteria of the Senate Press Gallery. And while we've been trying to comply, I couldn't stop doing the news. So I went on the basis of a daily pass. And that's -- it's all under the procedures that the White House has established for that.
BLITZER: What's the connection between GOPUSA, the political Web site, and the Talon News Service? It's owned by the same wealthy Texas Republican.
GANNON: I wouldn't say wealthy. I don't know that to be true or not. But...
BLITZER: Bobby Eberle.
GANNON: Bobby Eberle.
But it's common ownership. That's all. Talon News is a separate, independent news division. I work for Talon News. I write articles for Talon News. And that's it.
BLITZER: So what are you going to do now?
GANNON: Well, there's -- you know, God closes doors and opens windows. And I believe this is going to be a good opportunity for me, even though it's been painful. And I'm going -- I believe that there's a silver lining out there.
BLITZER: Do you have something already in the works?
GANNON: I've had some people call and make inquiries to see if I had any interest in certain positions.
BLITZER: Jeff Gannon, thanks very much.
GANNON: Thank you, Wolf.
Wolf said the other day he felt it was wrong to attack him for being an advocacy journalist holding a clear position, as even some liberals do the same in the press corps. I was surprised.
Here is the blurb intro to the piece:
HOWARD KURTZ, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Jeff Gannon -- that's what he calls himself at least -- was an obscure member of the White House press corps before he got to ask President Bush a question two weeks ago. And that proved to be his professional downfall.
Gannon, a self-described conservative journalist, writes for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, both of which are owned by Texas Republican activist Bobby Eberle. And when the president called on him, Gannon asked a rather loaded question that seemed to disparage Senator Hillary Clinton and Minority Leader Harry Reid.
JEFF GANNON, REPORTER: Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock-solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you said you're going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?
KURTZ: One problem, Reid has never talked about soup lines. And Gannon later admitted he had picked up the characterization of the senator's views from Rush Limbaugh.
Suddenly, bloggers on liberal Web sites like Daily Kos started digging into his background. His real name, they discovered, was James Guckert. Gannon resigned from Talon News, saying that, out of concerns for his family, his voice of the new media has gone silent. He says he's been stalked and threatened by -- quote -- "nuts on the left."
Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has asked Bush in a letter whether the White House cleared Gannon in the briefing room to serve as -- quote -- "a tool of propaganda for your administration." White House spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed the charge, saying Gannon was allowed in on a day-to-day basis, just like any journalist, and it's not his job to screen reporters based on their political views. The president says McClellan didn't know who Gannon was when he called on him.
(on camera): Jeff Gannon called himself the conservative guy and delighted in being outspoken, even confrontational. His critics call him a fake reporter. But others say that liberal bloggers went too far in digging into his background because they didn't like his politics. Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
What is this Dean angle?
thanks for the Ping........I saw the segment on Brit's show.
Well, back then, it was much easier to break in without a degree; not it is basically essential.
That is why the press corps gave Gannon flack for no experience. But, I can tell a good journalistic story, and he writes good ones. He obviously learned somewhere how to write well.
BLITZER: Mark, thanks very much for joining us. Should I call you Mark or Samual?
Twain: Please call me Mark Twain.
BLITZER: So what -- explain the discrepancy. Your real name is Samual Clemens.
Twain: Yes. Well, it's pronounced Clemens.
BLITZER: Clemens.
Twain: It's a professional name. After a short military career I went the territory of Nevada and tried my hand in prospecting, which I found was not my cup of tea. I then became a reporter and was quickly moved up to editor of the Virginia City, Nev., Enterprise, this is when I began using Pseudonym "Mark Twain".
BLITZER: But you haven't legally changed it?
Twain: No.
BLITZER: So your passport still has Clemens?
Twain: Absolutely.
BLITZER: So, when you went anywhere and you showed your passport, it was under the name Clemens.
Twain: Absolutely.
yadda-yadda-yadda
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1340582/posts?page=435#435
Brit's show.......transcript.
It wouldn't surprise me if half of them didn't have a degree in "journalism."
Great take on it.
Thanks.
This just reinforces how low they'll go. It doesn't need to be true, just keep saying it. Leftys can be absolute trash.
You mean that the page you linked last night -- the one we looked at so late -- no longer is available?
Thank you! I missed the show traveling back from Wilmington.
So, can we add this to the things they have jumped too early on this week?
I wonder how the left gets those people in Congress to go out on a limb, time after time?
I hope Gannon sues some people. I hope there are some arrests. I also hope we won't see this sort of behavior again, but I think that is a foolish wish.
Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has asked Bush in a letter whether the White House cleared Gannon in the briefing room to serve as -- quote -- "a tool of propaganda for your administration
That is the angle the idiots on the left are trying to take, with this fake diatribe that the Bush Administration if using reporters to get their message across. From Armstrong Williams to the next one to the next one.....it is bogus, some BLOGGERS need to look into what the klintoon administration did, and get the names, you know they perfected this type of thing. Go for it BLOGGERS, FIND OUT THE TRUTH, IT DIDN'T START WITH MR. BUSH, AND IT WAS WORSE WITH klintoon. We're counting on you!
Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has asked Bush in a letter whether the White House cleared Gannon in the briefing room to serve as -- quote -- "a tool of propaganda for your administration
That is the angle the idiots on the left are trying to take, with this fake diatribe that the Bush Administration if using reporters to get their message across. From Armstrong Williams to the next one to the next one.....it is bogus, some BLOGGERS need to look into what the klintoon administration did, and get the names, you know they perfected this type of thing. Go for it BLOGGERS, FIND OUT THE TRUTH, IT DIDN'T START WITH MR. BUSH, AND IT WAS WORSE WITH klintoon. We're counting on you!
It wouldn't surprise me if half of them didn't have a degree in "journalism."
If I had a degree in "journalism" I would be too embarassed to say so, the way "journalism" is today!!!!!
I'm no legal expert but he might have a case for libel. It would serve them right if he chose to sue.
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