Face it, the White House punishes reporters who DARE report

[Lex]

.
on stories like this "Gannon"/White House/McClellan sex scandal story.

Rove is making calls right now telling CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc. that if they still want to get called on during press conferences, or if they want access to the White House and Cabinet members then they BETTER NOT report this story, or they should at least help squash it.

Scandal stories took off in the Clinton Administration because the Clinton White House didn't threaten the press with withholding access and upcoming stories.

[Nite Owl]

1. The only way that they can

overcome this is to stick together. Then who are they going to call on, it would be obvious. Not that they would because their editors/publishers want it this way.

[Lex]

3. They won't stick together--they are too scared of the other guy . . .

.
. . . getting the BIG story down the line.

It's a business decision, not a journalistic one. They have to get the stories, to get the viewers and the ad rates.

To be threatened with a freeze-out from the WH terrorizes them.

[HEyHEY]

2. Here-say of the day award goes to.......

;-)

[Lex]

8. Yes--'hearsay' from Joe Conason on Al Franken's show last week

.
but I trust Joe's word on this. This is how he says the WH press corps is managed by Rove and others at the WH.

[CrispyQ]

4. Rove is evil.

I wish he'd choke on his dinner tonight.

[Goathead]

5. My thoughts exactly

But it only takes one then they will fall like a stack of dominoes. if one of the big MSM picks it up then they will all have to. Also withholding access can backfire, but I doubt it will in this incident because of all the 'Big Money' involved.

[Lex]

6. Yes, if the story is so big that it is unmanagable for the White House

to try to keep it under wraps, then that would help.

I still say that the WH (Rove) 'monitors' how each of the networks 'handle' the story, so they can award brownie points to most favorable coverage.

[SmokingJacket]

7. I agree.

At some point, the Bushies' tactics are going to stop working. What's the MSM getting for their "access" -- a bunch of scripted comments?

Sooner or later someone's going to realize that publishing real news will make them a buck.

[sendero]

9. Exactly...

... what I was thinking. What access? Access to the same lies and talking points that every media outlet in America gets on their fax machine every day. Big fat hairy deal.

[tanyev]

10. Scripted comments. Exactly.

There is nothing that comes out of those press conferences that they couldn't get from a WH press release. Every reporter who isn't drinking the kool-aid and still has a shred of self respect left should just stop attending the press conferences.