SF Chronicle video prompts White House threat

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Washington -- The White House threatened Thursday to exclude The San Francisco Chronicle from pooled coverage of its events in the Bay Area after the paper posted a video of a protest at a San Francisco fundraiser for President Obama last week, Chronicle Editor Ward Bushee said.White House guidelines governing press coverage of such events are too restrictive, Bushee said, and the newspaper was within its rights to film the protest and post the video.

The White House press office would not speak on the record about the issue.

Chronicle senior political reporter Carla Marinucci was invited by the White House to cover the Obama fundraiser on April 21 on the condition that she send her written report to the White House to distribute to other reporters who did not attend. Such "pool reports" are routinely used for press coverage at White House events that are not open to the entire press corps.

About 200 donors paying $5,000 to $38,500 each attended the event at the St. Regis Hotel in the city, a day after Obama visited Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley touting the proliferation of "new media" breaking the confines of traditional journalism.





Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/29/MNA51J994T.DTL

[bowens43]

1. meet the new boss...... etc

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. Same as the old boss

[yurbud]

14. grassroots now equal weeds to Obama: PIC

I made this a while ago. I'd take out the reference to Rahm and just let Obama take credit for that strategery.

[JJW]

3. Just makes WikiLeaks even more important

[PSPS]

4. What next? "people have to watch what they say and watch what they do"

I see even Ari Fleischer still holds influence at the White House.

[Auggie]

5. Hearing about this I doubt Obama had a hand in it or that it's

even on his radar. Seems he would have bigger things on his mind.

[Demit]

9. "If the Czar only knew...!" the Russian peasants cried.

"He would surely do something!"

Seems to be a lot that doesn't show up on Obama's radar.

[Auggie]

10. What you might not know is that when the protest song began

The President waved off security and let them sing. The retaliation sounds like staff action.

[Demit]

20. Or it sounds like having it both ways.

The big guy gets to look magnanimous while still getting his warning across through the underlings. Look, it doesn't bother me too much. It's the way of things. But Obama is no innocent in the way of things.

[Broderick]

6. There was more on this story that concerned me

"What's worse: more than a few journalists familiar with this story are aware of some implied threats from the White House of additional and wider punishment if Carla's spanking became public. Really? That's a heavy hand usually reserved for places other than the land of the free."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?entry_id=87978#ixzz1KvACItba

[Arctic Dave]

7. bush must have sprayed something on the carpet in the Oval Office

that turns people into complete jackassses.

It's the only thing I can think of why Obama is becoming such a dolt.

[AsahinaKimi]

8. WTH?

Whats wrong with the San Francisco Chronicle? Nothing! Its not a right wing rag... Its not Fox News.. what the hell?

[louis-t]

11. Were the protesters demanding he release his birth certificate?

Just askin'.

[mulsh]

12. Read the article, the "journalist" agreed to "print only" coverage

then shot video. this would be her violating her agreement with the White House.

"As part of a "print-only pool," Marinucci was limited by White House guidelines to provide a print-only report, but Marinucci also took a video of the protest, which she posted in her written story on the online edition of The Chronicle at SFGate.com and on its politics blog after she sent her written pool report."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/28/MNA51J994T.DTL#ixzz1KvWlcYtK


BTW Carly Marinucci, the "journalist" has a long history with that "newspaper" of being a Republican party shill in addition to not being a very talented writer.

[EFerrari]

15. You're right- she's an idiot.

But the WH is handling this badly, too.

[No Elephants]

24. +1 Not only did she break her agreement with WH, she was unfair to her fellow reporters by not

sharing her video. She broke trust with her profession. That part is what her excuse --"everyone else was filming---doesn't address.

Some things will go uncovered unless there's a pool. Who's ever going to agree to a pool, if they can get "scooped" like this?

I am on the side of the WH on this one.

It's sad that so many read only the headline, or, at most, the thread header. And we're supposed to be the politically well-informed voters!

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[on point]

16. Simply disgusting.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

25. I agree, its simply disgusting that she would violate her agreement and stab fellow journalists in

the back by doing so.

[guruoo]

17. It's not about the video, it's about her posting it before filing her pool report, and

and 'hoarding' information, which is contrary to the purpose of having pool reporting in the first place.

From the story...
Some White House reporters are grumbling almost as much as the Administration about Carla's "breaking the rules." I can understand how they'd be irritated. If you didn't get the video because you understood you weren't supposed to, why should someone else get it who isn't following the longstanding civilized table manners?

The White House Press Correspondents' Association pool reporting guidelines warn about "no hoarding" of information and also say, "pool reports must be filed before any online story or blog." While uploading her video probably was the best way to file her report, Carla may have technically busted the letter of that law.

'...the guidelines also say, "Print poolers can snap pictures or take video.
They are not obliged to share these pictures...but can make them available if they so choose."

[The Green Manalishi]

21. why

" why should someone else get it who isn't following the longstanding civilized table manners?"

Because they are doing their *JOB* as a journalist instead of a partisan flunky hack?

[guruoo]

22. Journalists of intregrity keep their promises. Hacks agree to coverage ground rules, then break them

[The Green Manalishi]

27. The greatest good for the greatest number

is everybody knowing everything possible (*maybe* with the exception of some medical info and military secrets).
This shit has got to stop, even if the perpetrator in question is our progressive, articulate and usually well intentioned president. You are on the publics dime, godammit president Obama; if you say it you are being paid by *us*, you work for *us*. Stop this shit.
I love Obama, but wrong is wrong no matter who does it- and shit like whining about someone doing what a journalist is *supposed* to do, which is let we, the public know what our servants are doing and saying, sucks regardless of the party or person doing it.

[MasonJar]

18. Stupid on the part of the White House. Are they afraid of the truth getting out?

[EC]

19. Aren't fund raisers usually "press free" ?

I thought fund raisers were usually private. So they allow one reporter in to cover for a pool of reporters for written press and she posts a video of a fund raiser that is a private affair without permission? Did she at least get releases from the group that preformed the song or the White House?

[No Elephants]

23. A pool reporter is supposed to share. She didn't share her video

[mulsh]

26. SF Chron political "reporters" are woefully sub standard

The Chron has been spiraling downward for years. Their political "team" is just about the bottom of the barrel here in CA. If the white house sent the Chron any notice why doesn't the Chron publish it or link us to a pdf?

[AngryAmish]

28. break their backs, make them humble