White House caught planting a stooge in the press corps

[Diogenes_the_Cynic]

Fake reporter planted by WH

The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website.

Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is “committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers.” It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as “bringing the conservative message to America.”

The Globe story is an entertaining read. Apparently, Shrub uses this guy regularly to bail himself out of tough spots and Gannon is not above lying like a sack:

transcripts of White House briefings indicate that McClellan often calls on Gannon and that the press secretary – and the president – have found relief in a question from Gannon after critical lines of questioning from mainstream news organizations.

When Bush called on Gannon near the end of his nationally televised Jan. 26 news conference, he had just been questioned about Williams and the Education Department funds, an embarrassment to the administration. Gannon’s question was different.

“Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the US economy,” Gannon said. “[Minority Leader] Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock solid and there’s no crisis there. How are you going to work – you said you’re going to reach out to these people – how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?”

As it turned out, Reid had never talked about soup lines. That was a phrase attributed to him in satire by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show

Then there’s these lowball attacks on Kerry diguised as “questions” from during the campaign:

Last year, during the presidential campaign, Gannon’s comments could be even more pointed. In a Feb. 10, 2004, briefing with McClellan, for example, Gannon rose to deliver the following:

“Since there have been so many questions about what the president was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America’s racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else’s medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting?”

To paraphrase Lily Tomlin, no matter how cynical you get about this administration, it’s almost impossible to keep up.

Has any other President resorted to salting the press corps like this? I think this is yet another brand new low on the part of this White House.

[Ghanima]

Why am I sooooo not surprised? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Quick, somebody blame Clinton.

[Reeder]

Jeff Gannon is not even his real name.

All Things Considered, February 9, 2005 · A reporter for the conservative news site TalonNews.com resigns. The reporter, who went by the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, drew critical attention at President Bush’s January 26 press conference when he referred in question to Democrats “who seem divorced from reality” on the issue of retooling Social Security.

Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy

Give it a listen when it becomes available at around 7:30 EST

[Reeder]

If you don’t have 22 minutes to listen…don’t click the extended version. Wait for the abbreviated sound byte.

[Harborwolf]

I’ve honestly run out of words for this administration. My eyes have rolled back so much that they just flip right around to the front like a slot machine.

Times like this I recall a Jon Stewart/Daily Show quote regarding the Bush administration from the first term.

“It’s like they think we’re retarted.”

Maybe we are.

[duffer]

yawn

Huh? Did somebody mention The Press[sup]TM[/sup] being manipulated?
:eek:

Never heard of such a ludicrous claim. Goodnight.

[Jackmannii]

The other new low is how long it took for someone in the real news media to out this character. How obvious a stooge can one be?

Gannon (on the subject of regurgitating White House press release verbiage: “It’s the ultimate in journalistic honesty – unvarnished and unfiltered.”

Just like untreated sewage.

[Frank]

@Diogenes the Cynic

To paraphrase Lily Tomlin, no matter how cynical you get about this administration, it’s almost impossible to keep up.

I’m probably playing right into their hands, but my outrage meter is about outraged out. All I can do is agree that this is…well…outrageous.

[mhendo]

[/url=“http://www.talonnews.com/statement.shtml”]And he’s gone, as of yesterday.

Talon News Washington, DC reporter and White House Correspondent Jeff Gannon submitted his resignation from our organization effective February 8, 2005.

I understand and support Jeff’s decision, and have accepted the resignation.

We are currently evaluating candidates to fill this critical assignment, and anticipate minimal interruption of Talon’s coverage of our nation’s capitol and the White House in the meantime.

– Robert R. Eberle, Ph.D.
Editor in Chief, Talon News

And from his own website:

Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life.

Thank you to all those who supported me.

He must really have some confidence in the integrity of his White House reporting.

Just business as usual for this administration and its supporters.

[MovieMogul]

@duffer

yawn

Huh? Did somebody mention The Press[sup]TM[/sup] being manipulated?
:eek:

Never heard of such a ludicrous claim. Goodnight.

Please, manipulating the press and planting an actual ringer in their midst are two different things.

It’ll be interesting (yet predictably disheartening) to see what the administration does & doesn’t have to say about this. Ridiculous, insulting, and pretty pathetic in its desperation.

[mhendo]

Fixed link

[marshmallow]

B-But Limbaugh said it was OK! It’s the liberal media! Why, see, this is proof – the media had to route out the only “White House friendly” reporter! What an outrage this is!

Sorry, I just chuckle listening to him.

[kaylasdad99]

Sheesh, Dio why do you hate America so much?

[andros]

@duffer

yawn

Huh? Did somebody mention The Press[sup]TM[/sup] being manipulated?
:eek:

Never heard of such a ludicrous claim. Goodnight.

So this is fine with you?

Would it still be a snoozer if it turned out Clinton’s administration had done the same thing? Or would you be more irritated?

[Keapon_Laffin]

Wow.

Everyone’s so cynical nowadays. Its not even surprising, I think most people here expect it.

[elucidator]

Oh, there is much more! Much much more!

I’ve not the time to chase the cites at the moment, but there are other interestubg aspects that range from the suspect to the sordid. He appears to have been remarkably knowledgeable as regards the influence of Mr Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame…remember?.. and some perfectly lurid pictures of someone who may be the aforementioned Mister “Gannon”.

Watch this thread! Developing…

[Terrifel]

@andros

So this is fine with you?

Would it still be a snoozer if it turned out Clinton’s administration had done the same thing? Or would you be more irritated?

Dude, he/she said “goodnight.” Don’t demand another post; people need their sleep.

I think it’s sort of interesting that the guy who apparently first pointed this out is also supposedly one of the reporters who excavated details on the Clinton philandering crisis. I’d like to think that this minor brouhaha might lead to similar repercussions for this administration, but I suspect that’s fairly unlikely. At this point there’s not even any evidence that money changed hands. I seem to recall being born in a country where people could be held accountable for things occasionally. Now, yeah, it’s pretty much–“Yawn. Turns out they lied again. Huh…no WMDs, how about that? Oh well… The White House secretly paid people to support their agenda in the media? Fancy that.”

Interesting times.

[World_Eater]

@elucidator

Oh, there is much more! Much much more!

I’ve not the time to chase the cites at the moment, but there are other interestubg aspects that range from the suspect to the sordid. He appears to have been remarkably knowledgeable as regards the influence of Mr Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame…remember?.. and some perfectly lurid pictures of someone who may be the aforementioned Mister “Gannon”.

Watch this thread! Developing…

Is this story going to blow up in their faces developing, or are you just talking about the thread?

[Voyager]

@duffer

yawn

Huh? Did somebody mention The Press[sup]TM[/sup] being manipulated?
:eek:

Never heard of such a ludicrous claim. Goodnight.

duffer loves Big Brother.

[elucidator]

@World Eater

Is this story going to blow up in their faces developing, or are you just talking about the thread?

Yes! Exactly!