White House Press Corps Exposed

Carolina Journal. ^ | February 16, 2006 | Jon Ham

[george76]

Sitting in armchairs waiting for handouts not the best way to get scoops

Members of the elite White House press corps this week have acted more like animals that have been kept in captivity for so long that they can’t find news unless it is forced down their open gullets at a daily press briefing.

The Cheney hunting accident story embarrassingly revealed this fact, which probably explains the greater-than-normal anger and outrage of White House correspondents over the last few days.

“Why weren’t we told?” has been the refrain, not “How did we miss that story?”

The White House press corps does very little news gathering, if by that we mean beating the bushes to find out things.

Instead, they sit in a comfortable auditorium and wait to be told things.

One White House correspondent rarely scoops the others, evidently because the correspondents would rather have the security of getting news handed to them collectively than face the prospect of missing a big story.

Why any self-respecting reporter would want to cover the White House.

Everything was orchestrated.

Nothing was spontaneous.

There was a gentleman’s agreement to make sure no one missed out on a news break, even to the point that, at the end of the day, a light would go on in the press room to alert reporters that they could leave with the confidence that no news would emanate in their absence.

Under that system there was no reward for initiative and no penalty for sloth.

Even if big news were to break while reporters were gone, it was understood that either a) it would be held until they all came into the press room, or b) all would be phoned and notified at the same time.

[Zack Nguyen]

Facinating. Consider a vanity posting of your experiences. A lot of folks on FR would like it.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

NBC News' format follows this format...

firstname.lastname@nbc.com

Hence david.gregory@nbc.com.

Try that.

There's a great website (This is NOT a plug for their paid service, just their free one.) called didtheyreadit.com it allows you to anonymously track if the person you sent an email to actually read it.

[george76]

"one of the most dangerous places in Washington, D.C. is between a TV camera and Connie Chung..."

Let me know if you do a vanity post, please.

[billhilly]

What on earth are you doing posting Howdy Doody's picture here?

[RexBeach]

Roge-o, George!

[NavyCanDo]

You would think, that with the tens of thousands of people throughout the country that are in the press, that you would have to have very impressive credentials to make it to the White House press room. Very impressive.

So how is it that none seem to be able to ask an intelligent question during a press briefing, or they keep asking the same question over and over again? I would bet someone working for a High School news paper can come up with better questions than, "Will Dick Cheney resign because of this?", or "will it be more serious if the man dies?"

[originalbuckeye]

Yes, a vanity post from you with your anecdotes. That would be fun!

[RexBeach]

Thanks! I'll think about it...honest!

[Graymatter]

Members of the elite White House press corps this week have acted more like animals that have been kept in captivity for so long that they can’t find news unless it is forced down their open gullets at a daily press briefing.

MMMMMMM!!! That's good writing. :)

[Pirate21]

Caught this toon in Pookie 18's "Today's Toons" for 02/16/06:

[SauronOfMordor]

Rush had a good one yesterday - the White House should start releasing all it's newsworthy items to small news organizations around the country before these clowns are told

Better idea: Bush should call up Rush, live, during his afternoon broadcast, and make the next breaking announcement there

[Christopher Lincoln]

These are, no doubt, among the best reporters in the land — at least when they arrive.

I question this point. Mr. Ham seems to have a model in which the press rewards its best reporters with the plum assignments. I don't think that's how the MSM work at all.

[ConservativeMind]

I've always thought that if I were the White House press secretary, I would put on a pair of Depends undergarments and tell all the reporters that we are in there for the duration. However, should anyone leave for any reason, the press conference would be over.

And I would feel incredibly happy knowing I was taking a -hit while looking them directly in the face.

[greyfoxx39]

While surfing thru Softball, I heard Chrissy tell Kelly O'Donnell that "The press did a great job this week". Had to pick myself up from falling on the floor in astonishment.

[chiller]

I hope you heard Rush today suggest that good news such as housing starts, employment figures, rising markets and 4% quarterly economic growth should all be classified as secret to ensure that they were reported by old media.

Silly but absolutely true ! LOL.

[Question_Assumptions]

Years ago, in the Wall Street Journal, there was an opinion piece by a British tabloid reporter who talked about all the stories the British tabloids got right and the mainstream media missed until it was obvious. He said something very interesting in that article, which condemned the mainstream media for it's loss of investigative prowess, reduced to feeding on press releases which they barely question anymore. He said that curiosity should be the minimum basic requirement for a reporter and complained that most journalists no longer have any.

[Liberty Valance]

Anytime this adminstration circumvents the WH press pool there is an outside chance the the actual story will get out. I like that. I think McClellen should hold his next presser from the conference room of the Lubbock Avalanche with 15 minutes notice. ;o)

[F.J. Mitchell]

Maybe the press in America has always been hated, I can't really say. I can say for certain however that it's only been over the past 60 years that our media has sought solace in the arms of our enemies.

[EQAndyBuzz]

The WH should not allow the AP in their press briefings. This way the MSM will have to work for a living.

[george76]

Their only curiosity is limited to where to make dinner reservations.