Posted on 03/17/2005 11:17:11 AM PST by MisterRepublican
Well, it's official. The White House Correspondents' Association has weighed in on "Gannongate," saying "individual episodes" should not prompt a crackdown on credentialing. That was a reference to a conservative reporter, Jeff Gannon, heavily criticized for asking anti-Democrat questions.
Matt Drudge reported on February 28 that in a resolution adopted at a meeting in Washington that morning, the association said it "stands for inclusiveness in the credentialing process so that the White House remains accessible to all journalists We hope that individual episodes do not obscure the broader principles of a fair and evenhanded credentialing process."
The resolution explained that since 1914, the White House Correspondents' Association has operated independently of the White House and the White House credentialing process. "We intend for the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) to remain independent of that process," they wrote, adding that the process serves the goal of a free and full exchange of information.
"We wanted to err on the side of inclusion," Steve Scully of C-SPAN told the L.A. Times. Scully serves on the executive board of the WHCA. "Once you start dictating who is a journalist, you go down a slippery slope."
This is not surprising. The WHCA did not launch this crusade against Gannon. (It was launched by the left-leaning Media Matters for America.). In fact, if you look at C-SPAN clips of White House press briefings, it seems that established and well-known reporters often chuckle and grin good-naturedly when Les Kinsolving, Jeff Gannon and others writing for online news services ask loaded questions. It seems this presence has always been part of the White House press room "culture" and that it has livened up the proceedings.
(Excerpt) Read more at aim.org ...
From The Raw Story (your lefty source for all things Gannon):
"The House Judiciary Committee voted against adopting a resolution demanding Bush agencies turn over all credentialing information related to James D. Guckert 21-10..."
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=184
By that standard, Helen Thomas should be laughed out of the room.
Heck, I didn't even know he was old enough to drive.
Odd, I've never noticed the MSM reps reacting to her that way.....
Most of his clients were high ranking dems.
This story is not sticking but it did make another splash in the liberal cesspool of attacks on the Bush administration. The accusations made front page but the corrections/apologies are hidden in pages 10-20.
If memory serves me, in Helen Thomas's last days, her questions were either laughed at, disregarded or simply ridiculed but she was "credentialed".
That's fine, Steve. Let's "include" Christian journalists whose questions probe for congruence of WH policy and statement with the Word of God. You did say you wanted inclusion, right?
That's fine, Steve. Let's "include" Christian journalists whose questions probe for congruence of WH policy and statement with the Word of God. You did say you wanted inclusion, right?
Ping to PJ - check the DUmmies - they're probably going to self-destruct.
Gannongate was their pride and joy
goodness gracious gosch
The mainstream media has become the media of choice for the mentally, socially, morally and intellectually retarded. Theirs is the incredible shrinking pie.
This is a bogus scandal. Hell, he went on talk show immediately after the events and was honest. At one time, it would have been a scandal to have a guy who wants to be a gay escort be in the WH press corp, but the Klinton years pretty much removed all shame.
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