The Obama State-Run Media

[Jeebus]

Appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources, Plante said that to the extent the White House is able to "put out their own material" without the Washington press corps, "they're undercutting the First Amendment...it's state-run media"

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Bill Plante, you've been patrolling that building since Ronald Reagan. Does the White House press look a little self-involved, a little whiny as I said earlier, complaining about this Tiger incident?

BILL PLANTE, CBS NEWS SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We've gotten used to being called whiny lapdogs. I've heard it for 30 years. But this is not about a picture of Tiger Woods. This is about access to the president. And access to the president has been cut and pushed and curtailed over every administration I've covered.

And here's the nub of it, Howie: this administration has the tools to reach people on their own. They don't need us as much. And to the extent that they're able to do that, they're undercutting the First Amendment, which guarantees a free press through many voices. If they put out their own material, it's state-run media.

Truly a revolutionary concept - issue your own press releases, photos, and insider stories, carefully controlling who you speak with, who gets to interview you, and generally mold public opinion from the inside without fear of media inquiry or need to court them whether they oppose the practice or not.

[Jeebus]

Another view of this:

Politico's Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei write in a four-page behind-the-curtain piece Tuesday that "the balance of power between the White House and press has tipped unmistakably toward the government.

They quote a number of White House reporters, including the Times' Peter Baker and CBS News' Mark Knoller, who are critical of their lack of access to Mr. Obama and are amazed at the amount of content produced by the administration's media specialists.

Politico notes the "softball" interviews Mr. Obama gives to local and national TV anchors rather than White House beat reporters; the copious official administration photos compared to scant opportunities for photojournalists; weekend document releases that take advantage of slow news cycles; and the White House press team's method of using Twitter and social media to control the release of information.

"This administration loves to boast about how transparent they are, but they're transparent about things they want to be transparent about. He gives interviews not for our benefit, but to achieve his objective," Knoller said.

[NCBirdfan]

Both the GOP and the White House want to control the agenda of what gets spoken in the national media. It is up to the national media covering these "media organizations" to penetrate them. With capitalists and media in bed together, both the president and congress, with the apparent exception of sex scandals, get away with just presenting their press releases with little opposition from the compromised media.

Obama should not be able to get away with only softball questions and the GOP should not be able to get away with being obstructionists without any realistic plan in place other than to fight anything Obama advocates.

The majority of the media is not doing its job. Unfortunately, much of the major media are now gutted and streamlined for maximum profit. The results coming from this downsizing are skeleton crews doing the jobs original done by a full force or journalists. It's no wonder that we seldom get any more than press releases that pass as news anymore.

[Jeebus]

The majority of the media is not doing its job. Unfortunately, much of the major media are now gutted and streamlined for maximum profit.

Correct, and in the "race for ratings" they have no choice but to accept, print, and/or broadcast whatever the Obama administration carefully crafts and puts out, lest they get nothing.

They fear any confrontation that may lead to their network or paper being ignored for interviews or access, and meekly take whatever the Goebbels (I mean Obama) Administration's media office releases.

And they gush and fawn and happily say "thank you sir may I have another" as they are being whipped into shape by a very savvy media organization designed to counter all opposition, and gleefully accept the fairy tale that is foisted upon all of us.

[Hexexis]

...Truly a revolutionary concept ...

No, it is not. Reagan did it for 8 yr; Bush I, Clinton, Bush II did it. What's revolutionary is media choosing to report that they're suckers for every bit of moronica that comes outta pres. appointees & parasites.

[Jeebus]

No, it is not. Reagan did it for 8 yr; Bush I, Clinton, Bush II did it. What's revolutionary is media choosing to report that they're suckers for every bit of moronica that comes outta pres. appointees & parasites.

I must have have missed their Tweets and Facebook posts.....

[banner1124]

I must have have missed their Tweets and Facebook posts.....

Just because those forms of communication weren't around in the past doesn't mean that every Admin in recent memory hasn't done exactly this same thing. You didn't miss anything, you just choose to ignore anything that doesn't fit your agenda.

[Cameron]

Howie: this administration has the tools to reach people on their own. They don't need us as much. And to the extent that they're able to do that, they're undercutting the First Amendment. . .

How dare they?

Hey Bill Plante, there's another part to the First Amendment.

[Jeebus]

Just because those forms of communication weren't around in the past doesn't mean that every Admin in recent memory hasn't done exactly this same thing. You didn't miss anything, you just choose to ignore anything that doesn't fit your agenda.

This post illustrates the Obama sheeple attitude and their acceptance and compliance with whatever Glorious Leader tells them to think.

Rather than think "hey you know what, the media really DOES need to investigate, question, and otherwise keep tabs on what Th Govt is doing rather than rely on what they TELL us they're doing".....

No, this response just says "everybody else did it so what's the big deal."

Amazingly inept low-information voter, illustrated.

The difference in the past and now, which apparently escapes you, is the media accepting it and not challenging it.

Wake up.

[pickles]

This post illustrates the Obama sheeple attitude and their acceptance and compliance with whatever Glorious Leader tells them to think.

Rather than think "hey you know what, the media really DOES need to investigate, question, and otherwise keep tabs on what Th Govt is doing rather than rely on what they TELL us they're doing".....

No, this response just says "everybody else did it so what's the big deal."

Amazingly inept low-information voter, illustrated.

The difference in the past and now, which apparently escapes you, is the media accepting it and not challenging it.

Wake up.

Who's Bill Plante and on what kind of forum did he voice his displeasure?

[Jeebus]

Who's Bill Plante and on what kind of forum did he voice his displeasure?

Some 1,500 days after it began. Wow, what a revolutionary he is.

[soulflower]

Correct, and in the "race for ratings" they have no choice but to accept, print, and/or broadcast whatever the Obama administration carefully crafts and puts out, lest they get nothing.

They fear any confrontation that may lead to their network or paper being ignored for interviews or access, and meekly take whatever the Goebbels (I mean Obama) Administration's media office releases.

And they gush and fawn and happily say "thank you sir may I have another" as they are being whipped into shape by a very savvy media organization designed to counter all opposition, and gleefully accept the fairy tale that is foisted upon all of us.

And you're certain that no other President has manipulated the media before Obama?

[The Astute Reader(tm)]

Truly a revolutionary concept.

NOT!

But thanks for breaking this non-story.

[banner1124]

This post illustrates the Obama sheeple attitude and their acceptance and compliance with whatever Glorious Leader tells them to think.

Rather than think "hey you know what, the media really DOES need to investigate, question, and otherwise keep tabs on what Th Govt is doing rather than rely on what they TELL us they're doing".....

No, this response just says "everybody else did it so what's the big deal."

Amazingly inept low-information voter, illustrated.

The difference in the past and now, which apparently escapes you, is the media accepting it and not challenging it.

Wake up.

My GOD you are dense. My post says no such thing. The whole point of my post was to point out that despite the fact that this very thing has been going on for as long as most of us can remember, you have chosen to pretend like it's a brand new phenomenon completely concocted by Obama and his evil minions. Even at the end of your ridiculous post you blatantly lie about how the media addresses the issue. It's no different now than it was then as the media, for the most part, will complain from time to time about not having access but will pretty much accept it. They are probably more accepting now than in years past but it's been trending that way regardless of administration and is more a fault of the media itself than Obama. But you're such an anti-Obama psycho that you can't view anything objectively. It's you who need to wake up.

[bmore_ken]

I must have have missed their Tweets and Facebook posts.....

You get your news from Tweets and Facebook?

[Jeebus]

And you're certain that no other President has manipulated the media before Obama?

Read it again, souly. It's not that they all try to do it, it's the extent that it is accepted today by the MSM.

But you continue to be spoon-fed and accept whatever Glorious Leader's boots taste like.

[reg_indy]

Appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources, Plante said that to the extent the White House is able to "put out their own material" without the Washington press corps, "they're undercutting the First Amendment...it's state-run media"



Truly a revolutionary concept - issue your own press releases, photos, and insider stories, carefully controlling who you speak with, who gets to interview you, and generally mold public opinion from the inside without fear of media inquiry or need to court them whether they oppose the practice or not.

'Revolutionary?'

Maybe if you have been living under a rock the last 20-30 years..

[gonzoliberal]

Jeebus obviously wasn't around during the Bushsh years.

Or he's hypocritally forgetting.

You choose.

[Jeebus]

Clearly none -- not one -- of the bootlickers has read the story.

But something is different with this White House. Obama’s aides are better at using technology and exploiting the president’s “brand.” They are more disciplined about cracking down on staff that leak, or reporters who write things they don’t like. And they are obsessed with taking advantage of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and every other social media forums, not just for campaigns, but governing.

"The balance of power used to be much more in favor of the mainstream press,” said Mike McCurry, who was press secretary to President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Nowadays, he said, “The White House gets away with stuff I would never have dreamed of doing. When I talk to White House reporters now, they say it’s really tough to do business with people who don’t see the need to be cooperative.

McCurry and his colleagues in the Clinton White House were hardly above putting their boss in front of gentle questions: Clinton and Vice President Al Gore often preferred the safety of “Larry King Live” to the rhetorical combat of the briefing room. But Obama and his aides have raised it to an art form: The president has shut down interviews with many of the White House reporters who know the most and ask the toughest questions. Instead, he spends way more time talking directly to voters via friendly shows and media personalities. Why bother with The New York Times beat reporter when Obama can go on “The View”?

“The way the president’s availability to the press has shrunk in the last two years is a disgrace,” said ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton, who has covered every president back to Gerald R. Ford. “The president’s day-to-day policy development — on immigration, on guns — is almost totally opaque to the reporters trying to do a responsible job of covering it. There are no readouts from big meetings he has with people from the outside, and many of them aren’t even on his schedule. This is different from every president I covered. This White House goes to extreme lengths to keep the press away.”

[The Astute Reader(tm)]

...issue your own press releases, photos, and insider stories, carefully controlling who you speak with, who gets to interview you, and generally mold public opinion from the inside...

Duh, Gee, what did you think a press secretary's job was? Fetching coffee?