Tony Snow and David Gregory take on "hateful" bloggers

[DeepModem Mom]

Columbia Journalism Review; Feb. 21, 2007
Beware The Bloggers
Gal Beckerman

....At an evening roundtable last week at the National Press Club (details of which Think Progress provides, via C-SPAN), the press secretary and the journalist discussed the impact the Internet has had on the coverage of Washington. Gregory took the first stab: "I think politics and political coverage has become so polarized in this country...because it's the Internet and the blogs that have really used this White House's press conferences to somehow support positions out in America, political views. And they will clip and digitize portions of these briefings to fit into their particular argument. I think people will try to divine motives of the questioners and certainly draw conclusions about the answers or non-answers based on their own political views."..."I'm glad you raised the blog issue," (Snow) said, then looked around at the other panelists, all print journalists, and inquired, "Do any of you guys look at blogs much?"

Well, it turns out Tony does, a bit. "You've got this democratic age of the media. I'll occasionally punch it up," he admits. "You've got this wonderful, imaginative, hateful stuff that comes flying out."

"Hateful" was the operative word. Snow continued in this vein for a bit. But then Richard Wolffe, Newsweek's White House correspondent, offered the coup de grace: "They want us to play a role that isn't really our role. Our role is to ask questions and get information. ... It's not a chance for the opposition to take on the government and grill them to a point where they throw their hands up and surrender... It's not a political exercise, it's a journalistic exercise. And I think often the blogs are looking for us to be political advocates more than journalistic ones."

What binds the critique of Gregory and Snow, it seems, is an annoyance with the blogosphere's insistence on seeing everything in political terms. Don't they understand? We are objective. The White House tells us all it knows, in as clear and direct a way as it can. And the press corps -- the people's proxy -- asks the questions it needs to get at that information.

They can't be so naïve to believe this - to both imagine there is no spin or obfuscation, and that there is no political motivation beating in the hearts of reporters. The only other reason then for swatting away at what are actually - to be honest here - fairly powerless bloggers, is that they are genuinely scared. It's not that blogs have brought a new politicization of the coverage. White House briefings, for example, have always been charged with politics. After all, it is the president's version of events trying to beat out the others. What blogs bring is scrutiny. There is more of it. And this is what unites a David Gregory and a Tony Snow. They are being watched and picked apart by that many more millions of eyes. And this means journalists have to be more careful, choose their words more wisely, make their questions smarter and more aggressive. Press secretaries, for their part, have been forced to more quickly address criticism, answer questions more clearly than they have in the past, and be more accountable for flip-flops and lies.

Now, remind us again, what's wrong with that?

http://www.cjrdaily.org/behind_the_news/beware_the_bloggers.php

[valerief]

1. Well, the neocon bloggers are very hateful, if truth be told. nt

[Monkeyman]

2. They don't seem to like the Truth being out there

[redqueen]

3. Funny how these types had *nothing* to say about Rush and his ilk

when they were the only ones polluting the discourse with "hateful stuff".

Reap what ya sow, you bastards.

[nam78_two]

4. I saw that train-wreck

Most of them were light-weights like Sheryl Gay Stolberg (tied with Elizabeth Bumiller for most obsequious writer at the Times). I think a little bit better of David Gregory and was surprised that he was kissing up to the "snow job" the way he was x(...

[rodeodance]

6. David runs in the privledged elite crowd and wants to stay there.

[Solly Mack]

5. I'll recommend that

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. Bloggers often search for the truth

People like Tony Snow only follow the government propaganda bandwagon. I don't think Tony Snow would know what truth is if he fell over it!

[peacetalksforall]

8. Richard Wolfe doesn't get it. What a whiner. What a misfit. What

blindness. He said: "It's not a political exercise, it's a journalistic exercise. And I think often the blogs are looking for us to be political advocates more than journalistic ones."

We want investigations of government and corporate activities - we want them with their contacts to look into everything by the proiroty set with their bosses where the bosses and journalists are not paid by corporations to spin, omit, bury what's important to the people.

He's now at the top of my detest list. But, perhaps I should just feel sorry for that poor excuse of a journalist.

[Mandate My Ass]

9. "there is no political motivation beating in the hearts of reporters"

Oh really? Then try applying one tenth of the scrutiny and dripping scorn you assholes had for Clinton and his administration on Bushco*.

[DemBones DemBones]

10. There are bloggers who are hateful, but they should recognize

the hate is on the right as well as the left. And there are a lot of hateful right wing talk shows but I don't know of any hateful left-wing shows.

[Ino]

11. How disheartening

to hear Gregory & Wolffe say this stuff. To Wolffe, I would rephrase his statement: "It's a chance for the PUBLIC, who we journalists are supposed to represent, to take on the government and grill them to a point where they throw their hands up and surrender THE TRUTH." I guess we were spoiled by (the old) Woodward & Bernstein INVESTIGATIVE journalism that kept digging for the whole story? "Our role is to ask questions and get information"?! What's the purpose of journalists if they're not going to dig? The White House could just issue a statement to be printed and that should be enough according to him.

[WI_DEM]

12. Well Gregory is right, people do just clip and use things to their own advantage

on both sides. I like David Gregory actually, he is one of the few mainstream journalists who shows some balls when covering this WH.

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. The Government and corporate owned MSM just can't handle that THEY can't control what information

gets out. We don't have to depend on them for false information. WE can find the truth on our own and THEY CAN'T HANDLE THAT. THEY aren't in control anymore. We can organize, we can fund raise, and we can move MILLIONS of people at the grassroot level. The Internets are more powerful than they are and they're having a real hard time accepting the fact that we don't have to be spoon fed by the liars anymore. NOTHING is wrong with that. Thank G-D we have the Internets AND YouTube! Now we can SEE what they do. Can't spin that! Bwahahahahahahaha! No wonder they hate the Internets. They're finally being held accountable for what they say and do.

Are David and Tony best buds now...since Tony apologized to David on National TeeVee?:eyes:

[grasswire]

14. well, it's cool to see CJR taking the side of bloggers...

..vs. MSM. That's a bit surprising.