Reporter Finally Does His Job

This week, Mr. Obama has allowed local reporters  in smaller cities to interview him.  For the first time, a reporter actually asks him tough questions and gets testy answers.  So much so, that the White House announces that HoustonDallas, Texas reporter WFAA's Brad Watson won't ever be permitted another interview.

The president of the United States was not happy. Obama had been corrected (he lost Texas by 12 points, not “a few,” in 2008), he was accused of punishing the state for political reasons (he denied that the White House had any part in the decision not to award a space shuttle to Houston), and he was challenged with the most basic of political questions: Why are you so unpopular in Texas?  And all that in a setting the White House anticipated would be largely free of tricky questions...Obama unclipped his microphone with no smile in sight, and tersely warned, “Let me finish my answers next time we do an interview, all right?”

Mr. Obama has always had awestruck treatment from the mainstream media, but when he's given even the most mild of adversarial questions, he can't handle it.

The problem: The reporter’s questions weren’t particularly difficult, but they were clearly not what Obama was expecting. The result was a viral video that depicted Obama as angry when faced with tough questioning. And it unveiled some of the degree to which the White House would like to control its message.

In retaliation, the White House will not permit that reporter to ever interview Mr. Obama again. 

Pfeiffer was asked by Time reporter Michael Scherer, “So will WFAA's Brad Watson get another interview one day?”   Instead of quickly taking the high road, Pfeiffer suggested that Watson may truly be out in the cold after irritating the president. And he did it by revealing yet another trick of Washington communications: playing one news outlet against its rival.

HT Drudge.

Here's another look, via Legal Insurrection:



UPDATE:  Per the comment below, Dallas is the homebase of the above reporter.

Our "Political Elite": Ezra Klein Edition

Those people who are our erstwhile "political elite" are often touted as being some of the best educated among us.  What's been discussed quite often lately is that these men and women aren't "educated" but are "credentialed."  What's meant by that is that they have the papers saying they are qualified, but really just don't have the knowledge that should be behind those little pieces of paper.  Here's a video that shows just that. 

Ezra Klein, works for the Washington Post, a newspaper that's often cited as one of the most influential news dailies in the country.  But as this video shows, this 26 year old political science major, who graduated from UCLA in 2007, you'd think that he'd actually know something about the Constitution...he doesn't have a clue.

"The Constitution is confusing because it was written more than a hundred years ago..."

And he's a "political scientist."?  That's what wrong, far too many of those who putatively believe they have the right to lead us, We The People, just don't have a clear understanding of our shared American history or the meaning behind the founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, the US Constutition...or the Federalist Papers.  Neo-Neocon says this,

"..MSM journalistic circles? I’m not just wondering because I disagree with his viewpoints. I’m wondering because I’ve noticed this trend towards extreme youth in journalism for quite some time, and consider it a very bad development.

It’s not that young people can’t write; they can. But their knowledge base is ordinarily composed of a roughly equal mix of youthful zeal, hubris, and ignorance, along with the book learning they’ve picked up in college. Except for some very rare cases (and I have no reason to believe that Klein is among them), their real-life experience—their hard-gained wisdom, you might say—is virtually nil."

But that seems to be pretty much what ALL of the "political elites" are like...a very thin educational resume...and they jump immediately into "government service" or "journalism."  They've no real experience in business meeting a payroll or more importantly in the military.  Just why do they consider themselves our "elite" is well beyond me.  Like Sarah Palin, I went to a state university and took a hell of a long time to finish because I paid for it myself, going only when I could afford to pay.

It's people like Klein who want  to be "movers & shakers" but really just don't have a clue...and that worries me.  These people want to run things but haven't a clue. It's time we start getting people who have real experience, who have actually done things accomplished concrete goals into Congress and our state legislatures, because if we continue the way we are, we'll have given away all of our freedoms and not have any idea where they went...

FTC Seeks To Federalize News Media

In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission began a staff study on how to "save journalism". This week, the FTC released a 35 page document that purports to show how the Federal Government can "save journalism" by taking it over and regulating it.

Under the proposed guidelines it will be possible to "own facts" just as it's possible to own a patent, or a piece of propety. This is perposterous! Jeff Jarvis of Buzzmachine says,

What disturbs me most in this section is that the FTC frets about “difficult line-drawing being proprietary facts and those in the public domain.” Proprietary facts? Is it starting down a road of trying to enable someone to own a fact the way the patent office lets someone own a method or our DNA? Good God, that’s dangerous.

Mark Tapscott, in the Washington Examiner gives three examples why this is a very dangerous proposition;

* Journalists must understand that there is no way the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press will survive if the federal government regulates the news industry as envisioned by the FTC. Those who accept at face value protests to the contrary or the professions of pure intentions by advocates of government takeover of the news business are, at best, incredibly naive.

* Journalists who remain silent or apathetic about what is being prepared by the FTC for their profession become unintentional accessories in the strangulation of independent journalism.

* Journalists who support or assist, for any reason, the FTC process are accomplices in the strangulation of independent journalism.

Freedom of the press, is guaranteed by the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution,

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

What the Obama Administration and the FTC seek to do is to eliminate this freedom through regulation by the Federal Government. Doing so would effectively prevent bloggers like me, and just about anyone else from ever being able to speak freely or comment on news of the day. This would have the end result of eliminating any opposition to this Administration or any other.

As it is, many on the left, such as the Governor of Massachusetts have proposed that speaking out against the Obama Administration is "dangerously near sedition." The last time I looked up that word it meant "incitement to or insurrection against lawful authority." Speaking out in opposition to the government is our guaranteed right, not sedition.

Mr. Tapscotts conclusion is illuminating and spot on,

Elected officials' first thought is always about re-election, while career government workers' is job security. A journalist's first thought is supposed to be getting the facts. To that end, we're supposed to be adversaries, not co-conspirators, partners, favored "stakeholders," or beneficiaries. That's why the Constitution made us independent.

The proposed regulations would make our news media...a state run and regulated enterprise wherein journalists would only report what the government wanted reported. It didn't work all that well in the Soviet Union (which no longer exists) and doesn't work well in either China or Iran. Instead of news, we'd only havew propoganda organs...and while the left leaning media isn't too far from that, they are still independent and have begun to finally do their job, a la the Obama Administration by asking those difficult questions that they have refused to ask of this Administration or his campaign over the past 2 years.

CBS News Crying In Their Beer

It's really hard to find any pity for CBS News on this one. They along with NBC and ABC led the charge on TV news to get Barack Obama elected. They have refused to properly vet any of his appointees and have ignored his extra-constitutional dependence upon "Czars". Additionally, during the last presidential campaign, they refused to do any investigation on his background. Furthermore, they refused to investigate John Edwards' extra-marital affairs until the National Enquirer published their report on his infidelity. So, it's sort of is amusing to watch them melt down.

COURIC FACES PAY CUT; DEEP LAYOFFS HIT CBSNEWS
Wed Feb 03 2010 09:11:21 ET

CBSNEWS anchorwoman and 60 MINUTES contributor Katie Couric faces a dramatic pay cut at the network, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

CBS boss Les Moonves is determined to save money and trim expenses -- from top to bottom -- at the former crown jewel of broadcasting.

Couric, the highest paid TV news personality in history, commands over $14 million a year, plus bumps for non-EVENING NEWS appearances.

But her salary is now in the direct line of fire, network insiders explain, and a populist backlash against Couric's cash is said to be forming inside the newsroom.

"She makes enough to pay 200 news reporters $75,000 a year!" demands a veteran producer. "It's complete insanity."

The angry source continues: "We report with great enthusiasm how much bankers are making, how it is out of step with reality during a recession. Well, look at Katie!"

...

Couric's $300,000 a week paycheck has become the obsession of disgruntled CBS staff, just as deep layoffs rock the fishbowl.

Dozens of employees -- including staff members in D.C., San Francisco, Miami, London, Los Angeles and Moscow -- are being let go, the NEW YORK OBSERVER reports.

Couric's current CBS contract expires next year.

How much you wanna bet...they don't renew her contract...she's lost huge numbers of viewers. Fox News is now the leader in broadcast news...network and cable across all categories. They are the only news organization that even pretends to be 'fair and balanced"...and the people of this country have long since recognized that.

"Journalists" now rank BELOW lawyers for prestige...which is really pretty sad. Because a proactive press is necessary in a modern democracy/republic in order to keep government honest...but the majority of our journalists are now mere propagandists for the government and democratic party which I believe is a huge reason for the now failing print news industry. They've turned off half (or more) of their audience, that's the recipe for failure.