The Times' Designated Man in the Street (Coulter outs Times)

NewsMax ^

[Republican Red]

Thursday, June 12, 2003 The Times' Designated Man in the Street

When the New York Times needs to find a man in the street to interview they never have to look very far - they have one on tap suitable for every occasion.

Thanks to a sharp-eyed Ann Coulter, one Greg Packer has been outed as the media's designated man in the street - a role Mr. Packer has played more than 100 times, Coulter discovered.

His latest assignment for the Times was to be the average man in the street in line waiting to buy Mrs. Clinton's newest work of fiction.

Wrote Coulter, author of the forthcoming blockbuster "Treason": "Another average individual eager to get Hillary's book was Greg Packer, who was the centerpiece of the New York Times' "man on the street" interview about Hillary-mania. After being first in line for an autographed book at the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble, Packer gushed to the Times: 'I'm a big fan of Hillary and Bill's. I want to change her mind about running for president. I want to be part of her campaign.'

"It was easy," Coulter noted "for the Times to spell Packer's name right because he is apparently the entire media's designated "man on the street" for all articles ever written. He has appeared in news stories more than 100 times as a random member of the public. Packer was quoted on his reaction to military strikes against Iraq; he was quoted at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Veterans' Day Parade. He was quoted at not one - but two - New Year's Eve celebrations at Times Square. He was quoted at the opening of a new "Star Wars" movie, at the opening of an H&M clothing store on Fifth Avenue and at the opening of the viewing stand at Ground Zero. He has been quoted at Yankees games, Mets games, Jets games - even getting tickets for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He was quoted at a Clinton fund-raiser at Alec Baldwin's house in the Hamptons and the pope's visit to Giants stadium."

If the Times and the rest of the New York media don't pay this guy, he's getting short changed.

[ewing]

I googled 'Greg Packer and New York' and got 17,000 articles..

[Fraulein]

Sheesh. This guy really gets around.

Even if Packer is not on the Times payroll, they clearly know Packer well enough to know his political inclinations. That means they know his position(s) in advance, and then ask him anyway.

[SquirrelKing]

Ow. That'll leave a mark...

:]

[Dog]

This is so funny.......the media has a ringer. Amazing!

[Cold Heat]

LOL! This............[is a real joke]

BWAAAAAAhahahahahahah!

[jimbo123]

Times' in-house fraud contact: retrace@nytimes.com

[Lazamataz]

The New York Slimes is a complete fraud.

[Howlin]

This is entirely TOO much fun!

[Miss Marple]

Excuse me, but this is a person being described as an average man on the street by the Times, which he is decidedly not. In addition, Ann also discovered that the first guy in line was a Clinton fundraiser who had been to the White House several times.

When my paper interviews people in a line, they present them as average people. The two people the Times quoted are not average Hillary fans waiting to buy a book. Packer will probably be at the head of the line on Friday for Guiliani's book signing.

[Dog]

This is the real life tourist guy......Hahahahahaha!

[The Old Hoosier]

From New Year's 2002 coverage in the Times:

Like many revelers, Greg Packer, a Huntington, N.Y., resident who has been to the last 10 Times Square ball-dropping parties, said that he would scale back his normal routine out of respect for Sept. 11.

Instead of accessorizing with his usual kazoos, horns and other noisy doodads, Mr. Packer wore three pins: "NYC Stronger Than Ever," "God Bless America" and one in the shape of the twin towers.

Even his "2002" glasses, in red, white and blue, were the smallest size possible, he said, because big and loud didn't feel right.

"It should be quiet and simple, because we're here for a feeling of togetherness, of unity, to celebrate the spirit of America," he said.

Asked if he minded that the police were confiscating alcohol from revelers in Times Square, Mr. Packer, 38, said: "There should be more candles than beers this year. Normally, if I see a beer, I'll grab someone's bottle and take a swig. But tonight, if I see a candle, I'll grab it."

[Straight Vermonter]

whitepages.com shows no listing for a Greg Packer in NYC.

[in the Arena]

Greg Packer holds a missing person flyer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1548045.stm

Greg Packer, from Huntington, N.Y., looks up Monday on Dec. 31, 2001, at where the traditional crystal ball will drop to ring in the year 2002, in New York's Times Square. (Stephen Chernin/AP Photo) http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/poll_newyear020101.html

[Stultis]

Andy Warhol would love it.

Maybe. Or maybe he'd tell Greg Packer to take his 15 minutes and move on.

[Incorrigible]

He's in Huntington, NY (Long Island) but he doesn't show up in Yahoo white pages anyway.

[nravoter]

No wonder I can't get my 15 minutes--this guy's hogged 1500!

[fml]

This guy comes across as a first class loser, and to have him quoted in so many news articles is just hilarious-


Sounds like a vast left-wing conspiracy.

[nravoter]

According to the latest New York Times article Mr. Packer is a 39 year old highway maintenance worker from Huntington, N.Y. I wonder how he was labeled in previous articles.

Well, to give the Times credit where credit is due, they got this one right: if he's a highway maintenance worker, I'd say that literally makes him a "man on the street".

[Charlie OK]

OMG! bookmarked!

[YaYa123]

Ann Coulter is sharp as a tack! Wonder what made her suspicious enough to google or lexus-nexus this guy?