Are White House reporters taking cue from liberal bloggers? A bit near the end of the New York Times "White House Memo" by reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "An Ebbing of Coverage With '08 on the Horizon," certainly puts the idea out there.
White House correspondent Stolberg again indulged herself in portraying Bush as a fallen and failed president.
"Back when he was riding high in the polls, when his every utterance made headlines and the press planes trailing him around the country were still full, President Bush had little need to indulge reporters with ceremonial pleasantries.
"But that is what Mr. Bush intends to do Wednesday, when he cuts the ribbon for the renovated White House briefing room. It is the latest sign of how times have changed for a president who now must work to hold the attention of a press corps that often seems to have lost interest in him.
There's an intriguing insight near the end:
"Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting is unlikely to merit front-page treatment, but it will bring the press corps, which has been operating in temporary quarters on Lafayette Square, back into the White House proper. The $8 million renovation ($6 million paid by taxpayers, the rest by news organizations) was not Mr. Bush's idea. It was that of his wife, Laura, who put her foot down after seeing the decrepit old briefing room, with wiring dangerously out of date.
"'She said: 'This won’t do. Fix it,' ' Mr. Snow said.
"Mrs. Bush will help cut the ribbon. Yet with the White House press corps under attack from liberal bloggers as being too cozy with the Bush administration, some reporters say they feel a little bit queasy about attending. Mr. Snow said the president would not take questions, which poses a quandary for journalists uneasy about being seen with him at a purely ceremonial affair."
A shame that the White House press corps never feels similarly pressed when conservative bloggers accuse them of being biased against conservative politicians and ideas.
For more New York Times bias, visit Times Watch.
—Clay Waters is the director of Times Watch, an MRC project tracking the New York Times.
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Own World
July 11, 2007 - 10:19 ET by allanfSheryl Gay Stolberg, who lives and socializes in the media bubble of New York and Washington might well conclude the Bush presidency has failed. Actually, the American people, despite polling are far less concerned then she and her cohorts.
The press is just confounded that Bush is focused on terrorism instead of the silly nonsense of the left, "climate change", "gay rights", "socialized medicine" and "womens issues". Ms. Stolberg lives operates by a silly moral calculus which allows her to conclude President Bush is more of a threat to the United States than evil and absolutely immoral fanatics bent on our destruction.
It is good to know these people who no real power except the power to complain.
The pot calling the kettle bl
July 11, 2007 - 10:20 ET by KC MulvilleThe pot calling the kettle black -- The president's popularity is dropping, and the NY Times calls it a sign of "decreasing relevance." A couple quotes from the article:
But … the NY Times circulation is dropping like a rock also. Read those quotes again, and realize how self-referential they are – they apply to the NY Times as well.
The press has "lost inte
July 11, 2007 - 10:21 ET by BeowulfThe press has "lost interest" in Bush? The White House press corps is "too cozy" with Bush? When every time Bush takes a leak, it signifies the downfall of his policies and reporters like Gregory and Thomas snipe at him and challenge virtually every statement he or Tony Snow makes? Doesn't sound like lost interest, and it damn sure doesn't sound like anyone cozying up to the administration.
And as for the renovation itself, as usual, the blame for the condition of the press room is diverted from where it should rightly be - the White House press corps themselves. Administration and White House staffers don't go in after press conferences and trash the place, the reporters do. They are the epitome of slobs. Yet, Bush ceremoniously opening a nicer venue for them to operate in is more call for Bush Bashing.
So much for professional journalism. It died years ago and no one noticed...
The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers
No
July 11, 2007 - 10:24 ET by cvgbuckeyeOne would think that this shameless left wing, democrat MSM bias would be subjected to some kind of MSM deniabilty but they no longer care.
Since Fox News, Bernie Goldberg and countless others have made the case of the MSM bias for democrats so strong, they have lost their will to debate it.
They know that anyone in the public with half a brain sees it plainly.
Hence the unrepentant CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer, Puke Olbermann, Frank Cafferty, that Mr. Magoo looking, bald-headed fool on CNN with his polls and it goes on and on and on are now unapologetic about presenting a democrat party convention 24/7.
Is she saying?
July 11, 2007 - 10:26 ET by exLibIs she saying that Bush was rude in the past and only now is being cordial to the press cause he has to?
I always thought Bush was too nice to the price from the get go.
Also, I thought it was the job of certain journalists to "follow around on planes".
How can a journalist think for minute that what the President does at any given moment is not in some way news?
So, since the Libs don't want to hear anything good from Bush all their loyal servants in the media are supposed to just "do something else"?
If I understand this correctl
July 11, 2007 - 10:27 ET by stratmanIf I understand this correctly, taxpayers paid the lion's share of refurbishing a room devoted exclusively for the reporter's use but these same reporter's are balking to attend the non-political opening ceremony for their exclusive room because the president is attending?
The president can phone in his comments or use a proxy. He doesn't have to give reporters briefings in person in the briefing room. In fact, it's an accommodation, not a requirement, given to these reporters in having a briefing room in the White House.
Where is their phoney indignation when they attend the press corp dinner at which the president appears and speaks?
What a bunch of spoiled, phoney, arrogant, hypocritical (nota bene Motherbelt), prejudicial, lousy ungrateful pukes.
Sickening.
So I guess you have a dislike
July 11, 2007 - 10:38 ET by Gat New YorkSo I guess you have a dislike for the White House Press Corp. The ceremony is just a ribbon-cutting. If there was free food and booze they'd show up in full attendance.
The project was funded primar
July 11, 2007 - 14:34 ET by stratmanThe project was funded primarily by taxpayers for the almost exclusive benefit of the reporters. To top it off, the President of the United States is attending the ceremony.
As adults, the reporters should attend a function for an event that was done at great expense for their benefit. That is how an adult responds when invited to a party in their honor.
If the agencies/media outlets do not send appropriate representatives then they are sending a political and/or personal message to the president and to the taxpayers. Their lack of gratitude and civility concerning a non-political and essentially non-propagandistic event garners the reporters a steaming heap of dung as far as I am concerned.
Might as well use the room for a better purpose, a storage room, and videoconference any briefings to offsite reporters. That way money will be saved, security concerns will be lessened and Al Gabore and his windmill tilting jihad for "Climate Change" will be pissed because less carbon offsets will need be purchased by the administration for all the methane producing, energy guzzling reporters.
That's a win-win-win proposition.
These people have been callin
July 11, 2007 - 10:53 ET by mattmThese people have been calling Bush a failed president since before he was inaugurated... What pathetic losers!