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April 26, 2007 12:58 PM
Washington Reporters In Meltdown, Damage-Control Freak Out Mode
In the lead up to and wake of Bill Moyers' much-anticipated mega-dunk on the Washington press corps this week, we are seeing the ugliest side of Beltway culture - the meltdown, damage-control freak out. Only what's new is that instead of politicians melting down, it's reporters themselves. And never underestimate the desperation that comes when Establishment Washington unifies to try to defend itself.
Over here we have professional power-worshiper Chris "It Doesn't Matter Where Political Money Comes From" Cillizza attempting to defend Tim Russert, and in the process insulting the recently deceased journalistic hero David Halberstam. Yes, Cillizza - clearly begging for an invite on a Meet the Press panel - is out there saying that "modern journalists are doing their very best to emulate that sort of reporting" that came from Halberstam, and that "Tim Russert is one of the best examples of that kind of accountability journalism." I guess turning over NBC's airwaves to a Vice President spewing lies, ignoring the solid reporting of Knight Ridder that debunked those lies, and having panel discussions laughing hysterically with fellow pundit friends over predictions for when the war would start is, under Cillizza's warped Beltway definition, "accountability journalism" from Russert (who, I'm sure, Cillizza would also have us believe is just a "blue collar guy from Buffalo," despite Russert's multi-million-dollar salary and quaint Nantucket summers).
Over at CBS, White House reporter Mark Knoller's acrobatic attempts at defense make Rodney Dangerfield's "Triple Lindy" from "Back to School" look like a simple somersault. Knoller actually claims that the now-famous pre-war press conference where reporters fell all over themselves to compliment the president for his leadership was actually a scene of journalistic bravery. Atrios does the takedown of Knoller, showing the full transcript of that press conference, but if you don't want to read that, please just remember what New York Times White House reporter Elisabeth Bumiller said to defend the media's behavior at the event:
"We were very deferential because…it's live, it's very intense, it's frightening to stand up there. Think about it, you're standing up on prime-time live TV asking the president of the United States a question when the country's about to go to war. There was a very serious, somber tone that evening, and no one wanted to get into an argument with the president at this very serious time."
Moyers piece is important not just because it has exposed the entire sham that was pre-war Beltway journalism, but also because he has finally exacted a price - in this case, humiliation - from the reporters whose power-worshiping, must-stay-on-the-cocktail-party-circuit tendencies led them to aggressively push this country into war. And we can hope that fear of future humiliation will help prevent another gross abdication of responsibility next time around.
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And we can hope that fear of future humiliation will help prevent another gross abdication of responsibility next time around.
I hope that Bush will reform, fire all his cronies and resign, but that's not gonna happen either.
Their humiliation is almost solely among peers. They've asked harder questions only when 60% of the public started opposing the war and it became clear that the tide had turned in the November elections.
But most will continue their same cocktail party circuit, and wonder what the public's so upset about.
If we wanted serious reform, we should ask them to pledge never to print any quote from Rove or Cheney's offices off-the-record. They were all useful tools who got punked by the master spinners and the only way they'll ever regain credibility in my eyes is to publicly refuse to be punked by those specific punkers.
Now is the next time. Right now, while this country is trying to put an end to what they create. And I mean they created, for this would not have happened had they done their job of informing the populace with the truth, the reality. If they don't do their job properly now, there is no next time because what they created is an endless "war on terror".
Have you noticed the recent trend of CNN and MSNBC and others (not KeithO) to take great pains in smirking and mocking the Dems in a very overt fashion. ..as if they have been encouraged to do this. It seems totally inappropriate and artificial. It seems that this might be the way the media has decided to cover what the Democratic Congress is doing. Don't give any weight to the process. Mock them, smirk when talking about what they are doing, roll your eyes as if they are too funny for words. It is weird and they need to be called on this behavior.
There is no skepticism with anything the GOP says, but the Dems need to be mocked and laughed at.
Personally, I don't feel the politicians who gave Jr. his blank check and "approval" to attack Iraq are any better than the Corporate Media whores who pushed it down our collective throats. None of them did their job and they all need to be marginalized, NOT promoted to the highest office in the country. The truth and facts were out there -- those who chose to ignore it did so for their own advancement.
BEFORE "they" can do the same thing with Iran, please sign on to VoteVets petition. There are links to write Congress as well as local press, and a "supplies" link to print out petitions, doorhangers, posters and t-shirt transfers.
http://www.stopiranwar.com
Also, order up some FREE Stop Iran War Buttons to distribute:
http://www.stopiranwarbuttons.com/default.asp
Should we all ignore Dana Milbank's bizarre defense of Rove on Countdown from Monday night??? (Rove has claimed that he doesn't drink in the past...hasn't he?)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18291850/
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think Karl Rove just wanted to have some fun on Saturday night and I think he wasn‘t the only one. I think that it‘s unfortunate that people who have a (sic) impassioned view about a topic don‘t take the time and afford the president the same respect that they are asking for. The president‘s record on climate change is very strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I‘m joined now by our own Dana Milbank, who as the national political reporter for the “Washington Post,” was at the dinner Saturday night. Dana, laying aside the fact that the fight was with Karl Rove and not the president, as Dana Perino sort of talked about there, what do you make of the White House reaction to all that?
DANA MILBANK, “THE WASHINGTON POST”: I make of it that they seem to have too much time on their hands if they are wanting to mix it up with a couple of entertainers.
STEWART: Well, the “National Review” claims another witness said that Crow and David were a lot more aggressive with Karl Rove than they let on. Now, was it a good message and a bad choice of timing? Isn‘t this thing supposed to be all hugs and air kisses and hey, you look fabulous, so do you?
MILBANK: Yes, that‘s exactly what it is supposed to be, which is why it should probably be discontinued all together. But if we should give—if we can spare a moment of sympathy for Karl Rove; he‘s sitting there. His president is on the stage with 33 percent popularity. He‘s just lost both houses of Congress. He‘s surrounded by literally hundreds, if not thousands, of journalists and he‘s about to have to sit through 20 minutes of Rich Little. So I would be pretty ornery in that position as well.
STEWART: But Rove gave this response, which gave the story legs, by saying, I don‘t work for you. I work for the American people. Really smart answer? Really dumb answer? What do you think?
MILBANK: Well, he was quick on his feet, particularly when you consider the amount of alcohol that almost certainly had been consumed. The drinks started at 6:00 in the evening and go on well towards 2:00 in the morning. But that is vintage Karl Rove. He is very sharp and he doesn‘t mind mixing it up. So I‘m sure he didn‘t really let this disrupt his digestion that night.
well, david, i would venture to say that it's not just PRE-WAR beltway journalism, it's TODAY'S beltway journalism... i don't see that things have changed very much, particularly not since, as you so colorfully describe it...
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"In the lead up to and wake of Bill Moyers' much-anticipated mega-dunk on the Washington press corps this week, we are seeing the ugliest side of Beltway culture - the meltdown, damage-control freak out. Only what's new is that instead of politicians melting down, it's reporters themselves."
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as moyers clearly pointed out, all the usual suspects are still out there every day, being called on as experts and being given new and more visible media positions from which to spew their mis- dis- and piss-poor "information"...
http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/
I have got to believe many of the media are paid to lie, and are not misled. Their bosses pay them to lie and propagadize. It ain't no accident . They have decided to continue to lie. Only the blogs stand in their way. And many are on some payroll other than their media bosses. Is Timmeh Russert a paid Bushie? And how many others.? They can't be that stupid. They're just corrupt .
The Moyer's documentary was excellent.
I also highly recommend Lisa Finnegan's "No Questions Asked". It is a powerful indictment of the mainstream media's lazy coverage of this administration. Again, highly sourced and documented. It is an excellent stand alone piece but it complements the Moyer's documentary tremendously.
Bill Moyers responds to Mark Knoller:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2007/04/bill_moyers_on_the_record.html
I am glad to hear that there's a melt down freakout because of the great bill moyers' hit piece taking these sycophantic morons to task for their subservience and sloppy....uh....typing i mean stenography i mean "reporting"
"......no one wanted to get into an argument with the president"
every one of these reporters should just bow down and kiss his ring before the start of any press conference. that would make more sense and perhaps put them at ease so they could ask the king i mean the emperor i mean the fake president questions and not be so frightened hahaha
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