Any questions?
Posted on 02/23/2005 10:12:30 AM PST by rface
I had been wondering why it has taken so long for the strange saga of fake journalist Jeff Gannon to catch on.
To bring you up to date, Gannon was a writer for the conservative website TalonNews.com who took part in White House press briefings for two years, despite the fact he had been deemed ineligible for a permanent press pass.
Whenever called upon during the daily press gaggle, Gannon would ask "questions" that were attacks on the Bush administration's perceived opponents, rather than honest attempts to elicit information.
The Washington Post noted in a story from a year ago that press secretary Scott McClellan appreciated Gannon's methods, calling on Gannon whenever he wanted to blunt reaction to other reporters' more difficult questions.
No doubt that's how Gannon got to question President Bush last month, since it's no secret that not just anybody gets to question Bush directly.
Gannon's question turned out to be an attack on Democratic Sen. Harry Reid that was not only inaccurate but was cribbed verbatim from one of Rush Limbaugh's radio rants. This incident raised the curiosity of a number of liberal bloggers, who began Googling Gannon to learn more about him.
They discovered his sole journalistic experience was a two-day, $50 seminar run by the right-wing Leadership Institute. Not much of a qualification, but at least lunch was included both days.
The discovery of his real name — J.D. Guckert — helped uncover his ownership of such Internet domain names as HotMilitaryStuds.com. And that led to the revelation of his secret life as a gay escort. Maybe not so secret, since he advertised his services and rates on the Internet.
I'm not thinking White House sex scandal here, by the way — I'm thinking a breach in homeland security. Indulge me in a bit of speculative fiction for a moment:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators have uncovered more information about an audacious attack on President George W. Bush in the White House press room yesterday.
Eyewitnesses report that correspondent Jeff Gannon lunged at the president just after asking him a question, causing injuries to his upper torso that may include a broken rib. Three nearby reporters subdued Gannon until the Secret Service could take him into custody.
A spokesman for the Secret Service said today that the suspect had been a regular attendee at White House press functions for two years despite not having a permanent press credential. In addition, Gannon appeared to be operating under an assumed name and had ties to gay prostitution websites.
Investigators said the suspect was angry about the Bush administration's position on the Federal Marriage Amendment and had devised a scheme to get close to the president by pretending to be an advocate for the administration.
Gannon used GOPUSA.com, a site for Republican activists mainly staffed by volunteers, as cover for his plan. His temporary press pass listed him as a correspondent for Talon News, which is part of GOPUSA.com.
Investigators are now talking to officials in the White House press office to find out if anyone there was helping Gannon circumvent the screening process for press access.
That's why this is a big deal. Somebody inside must have helped Gannon get into press briefings despite his inability to get clearance the conventional way — and, unless you think gay hustlers aren't unusual in this White House, without a rudimentary background check.
Not that it's surprising that this administration would indiscriminately wave a shill into the press room, given its recently revealed history of paying pundits to advocate its policies and distributing video P.R. releases dressed up as news broadcasts with fake anchors.
Still, I'm sure the administration would prefer it not be represented in its future propaganda endeavors by any more HotMilitaryStuds.com. So perhaps they might want to adopt a more thorough screening process of the kind advocated by that noted media critic Jeff Foxworthy: "You might not be a journalist if..."
• … all your biggest stories are about you instead of by you.
• … you submit White House press releases as original stories. That was typical of Gannon's M.O., although you can't check for yourself anymore — Talon News has scrubbed all of Gannon's "work" off its site.
• … you have a secret life. You won't have the secret for long, and a big enough secret might just cost you your career once revealed. Ask Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley.
• … you get paid $200 an hour or $1,200 a weekend, the rates listed in Gannon's online escort ads. You certainly wouldn't be a print journalist, I can assure you from experience.
Gannon now tells Newsweek he's considering a lawsuit against the bloggers who compiled his story from the public record. That's a bad idea on two counts. First of all, "definition of character" is not a cause of action.
More importantly, Robert Blake, Phil Spector and Michael Jackson are already sucking up all the courtroom oxygen.
What Gannon needs is advice from somebody who knows how to capitalize on this kind of publicity. Monica Lewinsky comes to mind.
they are so clueless.....
Right there, I knew this was from a REAL journalist. Not some biased poseur like Gannon ...
Glass houses.....heh.
REAL journalists don't announce when they're about to engage in a flight of fancy... it dispels the aura of believability.
Just sick a$$ sour grapes.
Any questions?
Once again. Who cares about Gannon? The desperation fo the left is amazing.
I just saw that ZOTTTTed thread - so I here-by post this thread in LocalDemocrats memory
Near as I can figure, the only qualifications for "real" journalism are a pulse and a nodding acquaintance with the English language.
FYI, the trolls are out in force today, pushing this story. Apparently the DNC fax machine has been busy, and the sheep on the left are "baaa-ing" their tripe to anyone who'll listen.
I wonder if Gannon ever worked for Bonnie Fwank's call-boy service?
Oh, look:
Francis Volpe
Francis Volpe, a Carlisle resident, is currently editor of The Sentinel's editorial page and its entertainment section, Alive. He has a bachelor's degree in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in journalism from Point Park College in Pittsburgh. Before joining The Sentinel in 1996, he was editor of the Murrsyville Area Star and the Norwin Star in western Pennsylvania, where he directed news coverage and wrote editorials and opinion columns. His column has appeared every Tuesday in The Sentinel since August 2001.
I think it might be murrymom's son!
Real News from disneyland? That rates up there with Dan Rather. The straws at DUh are getting shorter and shorter.
They wouldn't know what real news was it if hit them in the a$$. ca ching
your son?
"Indulge me in a bit of speculative fiction for a moment..."
My response at that point was to scroll down to the comments. 8^>
2 entries found for journalist.
jour·nal·ist ( P ) Pronunciation Key (jûrn-lst)
n.
One whose occupation is journalism.
One who keeps a journal.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
journalist
n 1: a writer for newspapers and magazines 2: someone who keeps a diary or journal [syn: diarist, diary keeper]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.