At WH Request, Newspaper Censors Mildly Negative Sentence About Michelle Obama
This White House faced strikingly little press criticism during the 2008 presidential campaign and through most of its first two years in office. So seldom is this White House meaningfully criticized in fact, that even the most mild jab apparently inspires backlash against the press.
Just last week it was revealed that a San Francisco Chronicle reporter was booted from the White House press pool for the crime of recording an anti-Obama protest with her smartphone. Then today, the Pleasanton Weekly, a small newspaper in Pleasanton, California, revealed that the White House had asked that the paper remove a passage it felt reflected poorly on First Lady Michelle Obama.
And, amazingly, the paper obliged. It removed the passage, saying it didn't want to make a "fuss." The White House is grateful for the self-censorship, I'm sure.
The passage in question dared to note that Mrs. Obama hadn't spoken with the pilots of Marine One in the reporter's presence, the Daily Caller reported on Tuesday:
In an email to The Daily Caller, Gina Channell-Allen, president of the Pleasanton Weekly in Pleasanton, California, said that her paper “received a call from the White House asking us to take out part of the story because it reflected poorly on the First Lady.”
The story in question was a soft feature about Marine One titled, “Inside Marine One, President Obama’s helicopter,” that ran in the paper on April 20. Pleasanton staffer Amory Gutierrez “didn’t get to ride in ‘Marine One,’” she wrote in her story, “but I did get the VIP tour and took photographs of the otherwise unseen aircraft.”
She also wrote a sentence that the White House thought made FLOTUS look snooty.
"Basically the reporter said that the First Lady didn’t speak to the pilots but acknowledged them by making eye contact," Allen wrote in her email.
Allen says she “complied” with the White House’s request “because it was not worth making a fuss over.”
She added, “I thought it was interesting, though, that the [White House] was concerned enough about image to contact a little weekly paper in Pleasanton.”
- Lachlan Markay's blog
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Comments
There is no town or newspaper
Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 6:37pm.
There is no town or newspaper too small, no observation or comment too trivial to be allowed to tarnish the image of the Queen. If they don't nip it in the bud, who knows?- soon someone will dare to criticize one of her outfits!
You have to wonder just how many people they have poring over every word that's printed about them in every paper in the US to even pick up on this.
Talk about obsession!
Yo Shawn!
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 6:44pm.
Here's a good place to get on the censorship kick.
ps (Oops! Posted this in reply to mb instead of a new post, but it still works.)
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
The paper needs to change its name to:
Submitted by Grumpy in Arizona on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 7:03pm.
“The Pleasanton Surrender Monkeys News”
Motto: “No anti-Obama item too small to suppress!”
It's not like the paper had suggested a better way to fly Moochelle around without her having to acknowledge the presence of the Marines would be to just fill her with helium, paint ‘Goodyear’ on her side and just tow her behind the copter... or anything like that! ...Which would be a mean and wrong thing to say under any circumstance! /Gasp, choke,/
- Grump
Better call the Daily Mail in
Submitted by kangaroo on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 7:08pm.
Better call the Daily Mail in the UK then! Then hunt down all those not so nice posters while your're at it.
You want everyone to have skin in the game baz, how about getting some thicker skin mate!!
"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on"--Thomas Jefferson
Remember, Boys and Girls...
Submitted by Tenebrous on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 7:17pm.
...the press isn't biased. No, they'll willingly roll over and play dead for their heroes. Would they have done this for W? For Reagan? Well, I guess we all know the answer to that one.
Visions and Principles blog
No, they don't roll over and play dead
Submitted by CO2Maker on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 10:34pm.
They roll over and point their feet at the ceiling in rapturous anticipation of being selected to ask a question.
After all, why did Chris the Wide Mouth Frog get a tingle? Why did the crease of Obama's pants send Brooks over the Viagra Falls?
Pleasanton might not be so
Submitted by Dan Diego on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 7:33pm.
Pleasanton might not be so pleasant.
Nice little town ya got here, hate to see something happen to those grants...
In all fairness
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 8:03pm.
I'm sure they would have done the same for Laura Bush, if asked.
Of course, her behavior is that of a lady, so no cover ups were necessary.
You think the Bush admin
Submitted by Dan Diego on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 8:10pm.
You think the Bush admin would ask?
Imagine the media "outrage".
Perception is everything
Submitted by mom_rox on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 8:53pm.
Publishing that sentence would tarnish the "White House image" that Michelle Obama proactively supports military families. After all, the pilots are part of that family.
This whole "Michelle Obama loves the military" thing is a sham..
Submitted by PrairieSky on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 5:05pm.
and is a fabrication of the WH to give her a self serving "platform" with which to try to make herself (and her hubby) look good to the military...What crap. Even that idiot and former jailbird Martha Stewart is on board with this bs...She has a primetime show on Mother's Day with MO and Jill Biden, supposedly "honoring" military families and moms...Gag. Michelle Obama, Jill Biden (and Martha Stewart too for that matter), don't give a damn about the military, military families or military moms, beyond what a show like this can do to politically help them and their useless husbands.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
Just wait until the Obamanistas go well beyond mere 'requests'
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 9:03pm.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Nothing, and I mean nothing ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 9:53pm.
... is more frightening than a Clydesdale when she's pissed!
Clarify frightening...
Submitted by jdlybrand on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 10:00pm.
From the front or the rear?
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
What's the difference?
Submitted by Rukus on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 12:34am.
.
So, I guess if I was to say
Submitted by jdhawk on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 12:03am.
So, I guess if I was to say that Muchelle Obama's "wide load" required custom seating on Marine One. That might get me "double tapped" by Seal Team 6 . . . .
Everyday the obama regime
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 1:11am.
Everyday the obama regime edges a little closer to national socialism. Most of his polices follow the thinking of the nazi party.
Let's be fair. It's hard to
Submitted by ant on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 1:58am.
Let's be fair. It's hard to say 'hello' with a mouth full of lobster and wine. Just, the rest of you, move your fat asses!
Sticks and stones may break my bones...
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 9:30am.
My, this administration is wet Kleenex-skinned! It is so sensitive to any type of criticism that the slightest negative peep sends it over the edge. No wonder the make believe media refuses to criticize him...
So the Fact that the FLOTUS is snooty never entered their Mind?
Submitted by scottyusmc on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 10:06am.
LOL Silly!!!
Scarier question for Mr. Markay
Submitted by RickTx on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 10:26am.
"A little weekly paper in Pleasanton" sounds like a print publication, is this correct? And if so, are WH reviewers gaining access all papers down to this level prior to the print runs, or was it a requirement of the staffer from the paper to provide a copy of the article prior to print? Either way: Hello PRAVDA.
Thats what I was thinking...
Submitted by QMCS on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 2:18pm.
How did the WH even get this before it went to print?
Rick
Submitted by Model850 on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 2:54pm.
Sounds like MO has "script approval" over any feature written about her.
Judging from what is reported it seems the WH has script approval over the entire MSM.
The White House and Lib-Speak
Submitted by Less1leg on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 10:49am.
Funny how the liberal Press capitulates to the utter protection of the Obama administration, yet went to great lengths to find anything and damn anything against a conservative President and his family. Story after story about the liberal administration being quite frankly pandered to. Reporters threaten because they didn't write "nice" about Obama or his family involvement within politics. MSNBC and other major networks race baiting news outlets and people when they don't agree with Obama's politics, because Obama is an African American.
I'm assuming that the pilots
Submitted by Diesel on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 11:14am.
I'm assuming that the pilots are white and mooch-elle is a racist.
......../Bob (I see racist people) Scheiffer
FDR all over again
Submitted by Utherpend on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 11:44am.
It seems that the spirit of FDR is still in the WH, since the press core back then couldnt even tell the country that their president was crippled by polio.
Obama Chastises First Lady Over Unsightly Panty Lines!
Submitted by HollyW on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 5:35pm.
The White House tried to get the Daily Rash to remove its story about Obama laying into Michelle for her unsightly panty lines. http://www.thedailyrash.com/?p=4891 Thus far the Daily Rash has refused.
Pressure on the Press
Submitted by Boil It Down on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 6:55pm.
I have an idea that criticism and dissent will be further stifled as the 2012 election approaches. I'm afraid it's going to get uglier. -bidn-
what/
Submitted by Patriot II on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 12:01pm.
More monkey see, monkey "doo"?
OBVIOUSLY she drinks from the
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 12:14pm.
OBVIOUSLY she drinks from the Obama URNIAL of recycled Kool-Aide.... and yes she drank it all right from the source!