News Photogs Flock to Obama's White House

Photo of Brent Baker.
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The Obama White House is serving as a convenient new employer for members of the media as news outlets downsize, but would they have felt so comfortable coming aboard a GOP President's staff? The latest hires: Three news photographers -- from Time magazine, Cox Newspapers and U.S. News & World Report magazine -- are joining the team of photographers snapping pictures at events and meetings in and around the White House complex.

The chief White House photographer, Pete Souza, “announced the hires to PDN,” DCRTV.com reported Thursday in picking up the item from the week before on the Photo District News site. Souza had already tapped photographers from the McClatchy-Tribune News Service and the Associated Press.

The March 24 PDNonline post, “Time Magazine's Top Photo Editor Exits for White House,” relayed the names of those leaving DC press corps slots for the Obama administration:

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- “Alice Gabriner, chief picture editor and acting director of photography for Time, will become White House photo editor and deputy director for the photo office.”

- “Rick McKay, photo editor and photographer for Cox Newspapers's Washington bureau, will become a deputy photo editor at the White House. Cox...plans to shut down its Washington bureau next month.”

- “Jennifer Poggi, who had been photography deputy director at U.S. News & World Report, will also become a deputy photo editor in the White House.”

(U.S. News is going to monthly “consumer service” issues and moving what's left of its news operation online.)

PDNonline also reported: “Last month, Souza announced the hiring of photographers Chuck Kennedy of McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Lawrence Jackson of the Associated Press and freelancer Samantha Appleton to assist in White House coverage.”

Souza, the un-bylined PDNonline post noted, also went through the revolving door, but for a Republican President: “Souza is a former photojournalist for the Chicago Tribune and was a White House photographer for President Reagan. He joined the Obama administration in January.”

—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center


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That's not all...

I have also heard that they have puchased a couple of liquid nitrogen cooled Cray supercomputers to handle the retouching of M'chell's pictures.

Adobe too

I have heard that they also have a special office where Adobe will work their wonders on the photos. Prolly need a full-time staff for that project.

Re Photoshop

Yes, I understand there is a new plugin for Photoshop called 'De-Klingonize'.

Watch how quickly the rats are fleeing the SINKING SHIPS!

Next up...NYT & Boston Globe ;-)  Get those resumes ready, people - the end is near!   So nice to see once successful enterprises who chose to go down the road of ONE-SIDED LIBERAL TRASH journalism rather than be the effective counterbalance to our government.  You did it to yourselves!!!!  And I couldn't be more pleased to see you FAIL!

NO business or ship can stay afloat listing to one extreme!

It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue. ~ Sam Adams

So how much

do these people get paid and why do they need so many of them? I realize someone has to feed their egos but come on.....

Does anyone know how many other administrations had?

Proof Obama is not Jesus. Jesus could actually build a cabinet 

Just how the heck many

Just how the heck many photographers do they need forWhite House Coverage?????

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

for all the slobbery coffee table books soon to come

hey they have to generate revenue somehow

Can they shoot on the fly?

These photographers are probably going to slow down Obama.  Remember, they are used to taking STAGED photos.  Do they remember how to take photos on the fly?  If not, each person or persons in each photo will have to stop and have the photographers pose them.

Then there will be the time it takes to TOUCHUP the photos.  Then when the pictures are proven to be fake, there will be those constant meetings to come up with a story about Obama not knowing they were fake.  That part won't be a problem.  The democrats have been coming up with reasons like that for many years.

Three more jobs

Three more jobs created.

Check!!!!!!