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White House Press Corps Exposed
Carolina Journal. ^ | February 16, 2006 | Jon Ham

Posted on 02/16/2006 8:42:25 AM PST by 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at carolinajournal.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 109th; beating; beatingthebushes; bestway; bush; bush43; cartoon; cheney; coverage; crybabies; elite; entitlementpress; firedavidgregory; foundation; g76; gullets; harrywhittington; isgregoryfiredyet; johnlocke; opengullets; presscorps; quailgate; raleigh; rude; rudechildren; sanctimonious; scoops; sittinginarmchairs; slug; slugs; thebushes; togetscoops; waitingforhandouts; whenwilltheyfiredave; whitehouse; whitehousepress
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To: Liberty Valance

Excellent idea...

"McClellen should hold his next presser from the conference room of the Lubbock Avalanche with 15 minutes notice..."


61 posted on 02/16/2006 6:58:05 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Pirate21

62 posted on 02/16/2006 7:47:42 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

Bratty Kid aka David Gregory is the prime example of these table scrap eating bunch of note-taking gutless wonders


63 posted on 02/16/2006 9:15:31 PM PST by Cinnamon
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To: RexBeach
Interesting comments from you. Thanks for the information.

By the sounds of it you also attended these WH briefings or were you in the administration?

Again thanks for the information and I hope your work at the WH was not all bad.

64 posted on 02/17/2006 4:58:06 AM PST by hawkaw
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To: Pablo64
I was listening to a montage of idiotic questions about the accident (most leveled as near accusations rather than questions) and my head almost exploded when I heard on "reporter" (female) actually ask the following: "Would it have been more serious if he had died?"

The proper answer would have been...

You've go a degree in journalism? .. Right? Pause "I knew it. You could not have been born that stupid .. You had to take lessons."

65 posted on 02/17/2006 5:09:24 AM PST by Common Tator
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To: hawkaw

Nope, I was a lowly reporter for a radio network and local station in DC.

Thank God, I got that out of my system in the mid-80s. Phew!


66 posted on 02/17/2006 6:10:05 AM PST by RexBeach ("There is no substitute for victory." -Douglas MacArthur)
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To: F.J. Mitchell

You should read William Safire's most recent book about the press from days gone by. Believe me, the press has always enjoyed a low reputation in America - since the beginning. But...members of the press will then tell you that, if that's so, they must be doing their jobs correctly.


67 posted on 02/17/2006 6:14:26 AM PST by RexBeach ("There is no substitute for victory." -Douglas MacArthur)
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To: george76
Sitting in armchairs waiting for handouts not the best way to get scoops

Reminds me of a welfare program

68 posted on 02/17/2006 6:17:31 AM PST by Mo1 (Republicans protect Americans from Terrorists.. Democrats protect Terrorists from Americans)
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To: george76

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

Not surprised they would default to what they know best...Communism.


69 posted on 02/17/2006 6:18:52 AM PST by ryan71
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To: Pablo64
Somewhere Bill Engvall is shouting "Here's your sign!"

ROTFL!!

70 posted on 02/17/2006 6:24:15 AM PST by SuziQ
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To: RexBeach
Thank God, I got that out of my system in the mid-80s. Phew!

LOL.

Again, thanks for your interesting information.

71 posted on 02/17/2006 6:50:11 AM PST by hawkaw
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To: Mo1

It is a welfare system.

"Sitting in armchairs waiting for handouts ..."


72 posted on 02/17/2006 7:10:58 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: ryan71

Another good definition of Communism...

"they can’t find news unless it is forced down their open gullets at a daily press briefing."


73 posted on 02/17/2006 7:13:14 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: RexBeach

They have a strange way of measuring their compentence, don't they?


74 posted on 02/17/2006 7:16:35 AM PST by F.J. Mitchell (Let's make government a liberal free zone.)
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To: george76; RexBeach

Yes...me too. Thanks.


75 posted on 02/17/2006 7:22:15 AM PST by CaliGirlGodHelpMe
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To: george76

That'll be 2 bucks , please.....I have a copyright on that phrase...

:-)


76 posted on 02/17/2006 7:39:16 AM PST by halfright (I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Teddy Kennedy)
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To: TexasCajun
Now for David Gregory wherever that wasskilly wabbitt's hiding


77 posted on 02/17/2006 8:23:04 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

"RALEIGH — 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."

They're sqwawking was probably due to the realization that they've become lazy, which would mean their newspaper boss was going to yell at them...


78 posted on 02/17/2006 8:26:06 AM PST by Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin
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To: george76

As a teenager, I was fortunate to work for United Press at a Democrat national convention and four years later at the Republican convention. That was (blush) late '50s, early '60s and back then the real newsmen, a rumpled gritty bunch, were bummed out by the new journalists who were more interested in their hairdos and suits than in gathering news.

TV was and remains the problem. The "news" people now just want to look good on camera.


79 posted on 02/17/2006 10:25:23 AM PST by Veto! (Opinions freely dispensed as advice)
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To: lormand

Any clues?.......You want a clue RE the CLUELESS?


80 posted on 02/17/2006 10:26:37 AM PST by litehaus
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