Brokaw: White House Correspondents' dinner hurting the press

The Washington Times ^ | May 6, 2012 | David Eldridge

[Pharmboy]

Former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw said Sunday that the glitzy annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner is damaging the perception of the press among the American public.

"It's time to rethink that," the longtime newsman said Sunday in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

He said the annual black-tie affair, which features Washington reporters and editors drinking, joking and partying with Hollywood stars and the city's top lawmakers -- including the president -- is contributing to the public's mistrust of the media.

snip...

"That’s another separation between what we’re supposed to be doing and what the people expect us to be doing, and I think that the Washington press corps has to look at that, and by the way I’m a charter member of the White House Correspondents Association, I was there early on and often enjoyed it, but it’s gone beyond what it needs to be.”

[Pharmboy]

"...but it’s gone beyond what it needs to be.”

Translation: it's become too popular with the late-night hosts and it's too visible to too many people. Scale it back: we cannot let the great unwashed see behind the curtain.

[FES0844]

How can a “reporter” be fair & objective? Fraternizing should not be allowed. No gifts, no perks, no dinners, just do your job.

[txrangerette]

Seems like his concern is over appearances, rather than over reality.

How will it APPEAR to the public, not how is it really, and what should be done about THAT?

[Mr. K]

Gee, ya think?

I am wondering if the soviet-era propagandists were as gleefully willing as our libtard whorenalists

The press are not going to be too happy when they start being TOLD what to write.

[Paladin2]

Too late for the MSM to avoid being grouped with Zer0.

[Pharmboy]

Exactly. And, when schools of journalism actually taught journalism and not how to brainwash the masses into thinking like everyone on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, real journalists would indeed do their job.

Not anymore. Even a committed leftist like Brokaw has become a little ill over it.

[GreyFriar]

I heard one correspondent comment, on the radio, that this president used the dinner to attack his political opponents, when the standard in the past was for the president to make himself the focus of his jokes. i.e. to joke about his gaffes and mistakes in office, not to take on those who politically oppose him. And he went on to critize BHO for doing that.

[THE_RAIDER]

DUH - Do thunk that?
The politicians read the teleprompters written by their puppet masters and the media and Hollywood elites regurgitate the same dictated script.

[EyeGuy]

This from the self-important, condescending, no-talent, who thinks the media’s job is to determine “what is important” when it come to “reporting the news”.

In other words, an admitted and brazen, propagandist.

[PLD]

Is damaging the perception of the press among the American public.

Not so Tom..your kiss ass ways to Barack Obama and any of the democrat communist criminals is what we do not trust or like about you or the other idiots in the press...you morons have caused ever bit of what you are getting..

[SMARTY]

“...the annual black-tie affair, which features Washington reporters and editors drinking, joking and partying with Hollywood stars and the city's top lawmakers — including the president — is contributing to the public’s mistrust of the media.”

‘...Is contributing...’???

Really!??

As if public mistrust of the media is something BRAND NEW!! For a very long time, the American public has regarded the ‘media’ as a shameless, unprincipled crowd of prostitutes, themselves only ‘one-step-up-from-the-curb!

[Pharmboy]

Yep...he gave himself away with that last sentence.

[TomGuy]

Sorry Tom lost his credibility the weekend before the 2008 elections when he and Charlie Rose admitted ON AIR that they ‘didn’t really know much about Obama, his beliefs, etc.’

Brokaw who criticized other venues (like FR and similar Internet commentary websites) and claimed that they — the main stream media — were the ones responsible for vetting national candidates, basically admitted their own failure to vet Obama in that Rose interview.

Brokaw and Rose Admit They Don’t Know Much About Obama - youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzMas1bVidw

Brokaw, because of that interview, sank to about the same credibility level as Dan Rather.

[MNDude]

didn’t Wolf Blitzer have a squirt gun fight with Biden?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Tom is our Captain Obvious Award Winner for May...

[NonValueAdded]

Well knock me over with a feather, Brokaw is actually speaking out loud on this? Sure, he couched it in talking about “perceptions” but still, it is a glimpse of light peeking through the blackout curtains.

[bkopto]

Tom Brokaw? Is he still alive?

[RightGeek]

With Brokaw it’s always a Duh moment

[iceskater]

Sorry Tom. The legacy media’s covering up and downright lying for all the leftists in Washington is what has done you in. Not the once-a-year smarmy lovefest called the White House Correspondents’ dinner.

[Brandonmark]