More Eating of The Press: Confessions of a WH Reporter

This is from Atrios, so you’ve probably already seen it. But my post before last was on the press as lapdogs, and I’ve talked quite a bit about Hubbard and the CEO, so here goes. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a confession by a Washington Post Economics Writer, Jonathan Weisman. Weisman describes the way interviews must be obtained and quotes approved. (Get it? It’s only a quote if the WH press office says it’s a quote; otherwise it was never uttered.) Follow the Poynter link for the full story, but here’s the actual confession:

“I had, of course, violated journalistic ethics, by placing into quotation marks a phrase that was never uttered by the source, ellipses or no ellipses. I had also played ball with the White House using rules that neither I nor any other reporter should be assenting to. I think it is time for all of us to reconsider the way we cover the White House.”

Of course, ask Helen Thomas, Bennett “Noted in the Building” Roth, or anyone at The Washington Post (the WP didn’t get to ask any questions at Bush’s “press conference”; Time, Newsweek, USA TODAY also were disfavored) what happens when you do challenge the president.

AB