MSM is AWOL on Gannongate

[paineinthearse]

I am aware of just one MSM article on Gannongate, done by the Boston Globe yesterday (are there others?). It is factual and objective. See it via http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x2936
or the original at
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/02/02/white_house_friendly_reporter_under_scrutiny/

I googled the lead sentence and got this "hit":
White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny
Boston Globe, MA - Feb 1, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions ...

Question: The Boston Globe is a well-respected paper. It is also owned by the NY Times. Why has the Times not picked up on this? Or other newspapers?

Take a moment to read the article and contact the ombudsman of your city's newspaper. Explain the history, provide background information about Talon, Gannon and Media Matters, why it is important to preserve journalistic integrity, and request that their paper give the story due coverage.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. More on Gannon in our own Demopedia!

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/index.php/Jeff_Gannon

[papau]

29. WaPo's Froomkin on Gannon - excellent summary of media response

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/administration/whbriefing

WaPo's Froomkin on Gannon - excellent summary of media response


SCANDAL in the Press Corps -- WaPo's Froomkin on Gannon

As posted by DUer grasswire in GD/P

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/administr...


Title: SCANDAL IN THE PRESS CORPS

Lots of good info.

[ynksnewyork2]

2. Very little, if any,

interest out there.

[paineinthearse]

3. I don't buy that argument.

I submit that there is very little public knowledge out there. The MSM would prefer to spend its resources on Jacko or Martha. Call me an optimist, but I still trust in the intelligence of the American people, that many would be interested if they knew.

It is imperative we get this information into the hands of people who can spread it further.

Get it to the editors of college and university newspapers. They are tomorrow's journalists.

Get it to local media with who you have (or should) have working relations.

Write a letter to the editor.

Just get it out!

[Langis]

4. Has Olberman covered it?

I'll bet he would if he knew about it.

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. Yes, and he did a great job.

"Hotmilitarystud.com," one of the sites owned by "Gannon" in his military prostitution sideline, was mentioned early, and Keith explained the "m4m" that appeared as part of another of the sites' names. There was much more. He really told the story.

Transcripts of Olbermann's shows come up about a day after broadcast here:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3719710

[Spike from MN]

28. Yes, Olbermann was hilarious last night.

He called it the "scandal that keeps on giving."

[AndrewNC]

5. It's just so frustrating

Something happens to upset conservatives, and it's somehow labeled 'Rathergate' -- as if intelligence failures or torture scandals -- you know, actual matters of policy -- aren't more deserving of that perjorative suffix.

I have friends at NPR. This kind of story would get legs there. I'm not saying that the public is stupid or unable to understand why this is an issue; but NPR is the kind of forum where they could run this story, and listeners would understand it right away. Though you gotta think -- wouldn't veteran CBS/CNN/NBC/ABC reporters be pretty riled up about this?!?!?

[AndrewNC]

6. If you're wondering what conservatives are saying about it...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1334675/posts

They seem to think that what he's doing is perfectly fine. Infuriating.

[number6]

7. yep

..

[paineinthearse]

8. Has anyone seen any more about Gannongate in MSM in the past several days?

Or is this yet another scandal that has quietly slipped away?

[paineinthearse]

9. Media Matters press release

Jeff Gannon Reverses Course, Quits as Talon News 'Reporter', Says Media Matters for America

2/9/2005 4:59:00 PM


----------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Melissa Salmanowitz of Media Matters for America, 202-756-4109 or [e-mail]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- After two weeks of controversy over his presence at White House press briefings, Talon News "reporter" Jeff Gannon abruptly resigned today, according to Media Matters for America.

Media Matters for America sparked the Gannon firestorm on Jan. 26 by detailing Gannon's tendency to lob "softball" questions for White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Media Matters has also shown that Gannon's "news" stories often consist of little more than reprints of Republican talking points, and that Talon News itself is more of a partisan political organization than a news outlet.

Today, in the wake of increased scrutiny prompted by Media Matters' work, including criticism by real reporters of his presence at White House press briefings, Gannon posted the following message on his personal Web site: "The voice goes silent. Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life."

Media Matters for America President and CEO David Brock noted: "Mr. Gannon's conduct during White House press briefings suggests that his true role is that of a partisan operative rather than an independent journalist. Gannon's announcement is welcome, but we will be watching to see who, if anyone, Talon News replaces him with."

Media Matters for America's revelations about Gannon included uncovering instances of Gannon's "news reports" lifting extensively and without attribution from an Republican National Committee "fact sheet," a White House "fact sheet" and directly from President Bush; the fact that Talon News is virtually indistinguishable from a Republican activist Web site known as http://GOPUSA.com; and the fact that Gannon and Talon/GOPUSA.com head Bobby Eberle have both attempted to organize political events via the right-wing online forum http://FreeRepublic.com.

On Jan. 31, Brock sent a letter to White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan detailing Gannon's and Talon's partisan ties and lack of journalistic qualifications and urging McClellan to consider revoking Gannon's White House press credentials.

News outlets including The Boston Globe, Editor & Publisher, and The Washington Post followed up on the Gannon controversy, quoting real journalists who questioned the presence of a political operative posing as a reporter at White House press briefings and disclosing the fact that Gannon's application for a congressional press pass was rejected. Gannon and Talon News were also the subject of intense research and activism conducted by participants in online forums such as http://DailyKos.com, among others. ---

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Media Matters for America is the first organization to systematically monitor the media for conservative misinformation every day, in real time. For more information, visit http://www.mediamatters.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[paineinthearse]

10. M$M still not reporting this

Note the first entry from Media Matters, a press release to US Newswire. If that gets ignored, we know the media is clamped down. The only MSM story I have seen is by the Boston Globe (a copy is in the Massachusetts forum), WP & the Niagara Falls Reporter. All others are either blogs or Gannon stories.

============================================================

From Google News at 7:11PM EST.

Searched Gannon Talon. Results are sorted by date.

Jeff Gannon Reverses Course, Quits as Talon News 'Reporter', Says ...
U.S. Newswire (press release), DC - 2 hours ago
... that Talon News is virtually indistinguishable from a Republican activist Web site known as http://GOPUSA.com; and the fact that Gannon and Talon/GOPUSA.com ...

Jeff Gannon reverses course, quits as Talon News "reporter
The Conservative Voice - 3 hours ago
Talon News Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent Jeff Gannon's decision "to return to private life" "because of the attention being paid" to ...

Jayson Blair Would Be Proud
Brown Daily Squeal (satire), NY - 4 hours ago
Talon News is a news organization which gives off no signs of being anything but ... So I assume it makes perfect sense that their reporter Jeff Gannon, with his ...

Rep. Slaughter Calls on President Bush to Explain Emerging White ...
Raw Story, MA - 4 hours ago
... attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James “JD” Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News. ...

Gannon reverses course, quits as Talon News "reporter"
Media Matters for America, DC - 5 hours ago
Talon News Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent Jeff Gannon's decision "to return to private life" "because of the attention being paid" to ...

Backstory of ‘gay’ profile emerges on conservative White House ...
Raw Story, MA - 5 hours ago
... Gannon was a reporter for Talon News, a conservative news site which some see as a propaganda outlet. Gannon resigned his post early ...

Jeff Gannon” a gay porn entrepreneur? (aka "James Dale Guckert
The Conservative Voice - 8 hours ago
By Roderick Oglethorpe. Recently there has been a buzz over the shadowy “Jeff Gannon” and the shadowy “Talon News Agency”. ...

Sudan Begins 3rd Consecutive Term on Human Rights Panel
Men's News Daily, CA - Feb 8, 2005
By Jeff Gannon. ... former US State and Defense Department official who has traveled extensively throughout Africa and the Middle East, explained to Talon News that ...

White House: Washington Post article 'flat wrong'
Insight on the News, DC - Feb 7, 2005
By Jeff Gannon. WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The White House pushed back against an article in Thursday's Washington Post, calling it 'flat wrong' about the ...

AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUISE SLAUGHTER
Niagarafallsreporter.com, NY - Feb 7, 2005
He is affiliated with an organization called Talon News, and is frequently called ... According to the Philadelphia Daily News, "Jeff Gannon" isn't even his real ...

AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUISE SLAUGHTER
Niagarafallsreporter.com, NY - Feb 7, 2005
He is affiliated with an organization called Talon News, and is frequently called ... According to the Philadelphia Daily News, "Jeff Gannon" isn't even his real ...

Why is Jeff Gannon Lying?
Dissident Voice, CA - Feb 7, 2005
by Katherine Brengle. The Boston Globe and Editor & Publisher have been tracking the Jeff Gannon story for a while. ... So why is Jeff Gannon lying? ...

Bush Barnstorms For Social Security Reform
GOPUSA, TX - Feb 7, 2005
By Jeff Gannon. WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- President Bush visited five states last week to promote his plans to reform Social Security. ...

Political Perspectives With Tunnel Vision
Washington Post (Subscription), DC - Feb 7, 2005
... Gannon writes for Talon News, a Web site whose reports also appear on another site, GOPUSA, whose self-declared mission is "Bringing the Conservative Message ...

Social Security distortions continue to dominate news
Media Matters for America, DC - Feb 4, 2005
... Last week, Media Matters explored the absurdity of Talon News' Jeff Gannon's presence at White House press briefings, noting that Talon News has more in common ...

GOP Hypocrite of the Week: Jeff Gannon
BuzzFlash, IL - Feb 4, 2005
... Biographical background on Gannon that no longer is on the Talon website indicated that "He is also a graduate of the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of ...

White House: Washington Post Article 'Flat Wrong'
GOPUSA, TX - Feb 4, 2005
By Jeff Gannon. WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The White House pushed back against an article in Thursday's Washington Post, calling it 'flat wrong' about the ...

Bush: Banning Gay Marriage Could Cut Deficit in Half
Swift Report - Feb 4, 2005
... When the Swift Report wants to know what the White House is thinking, we go straight to the source: Gannon's website Talon News. ...

Journos claim Bush friendly reporter is a plant
Inquirer, UK - Feb 3, 2005
... He also pointed out that many of the reports Gannon filed for Talon News "appeared to be lifted verbatim from various White House and Republican political ...

New Media Reporter Blasted and Investigated by Boston Globe
Mullenax News, OH - Feb 3, 2005
... hoping that some reporter would ask. Three cheers for Jeff Gannon of Talon News! He actually asked it. I happened to catch the news ...

[paineinthearse]

11. WP - Howard Kertz, 2/7/05 - Political Perspectives With Tunnel Vision

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A3418-2005Feb6?language=printer

Political Perspectives With Tunnel Vision

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 7, 2005; Page C01

<snip>

Reporter Questions Reality

It was hard not to notice the question at last month's presidential news conference. Invoking Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harry Reid, reporter Jeff Gannon said: "Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. . . . How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"
Gannon writes for Talon News, a Web site whose reports also appear on another site, GOPUSA, whose self-declared mission is "Bringing the Conservative Message to America". But White House spokesman Scott McClellan says President Bush didn't know who Gannon was and that it's "nonsense" to suggest the president was trying to get a sympathetic question. Gannon got a day pass to the White House, available to any journalist, commentator or blogger who writes for an audience. "I don't think it's the role of the press secretary to get into the business of being a media critic or picking and choosing who gets credentials," McClellan says.

Gannon, who uses a pseudonym -- he declines to reveal his real name --sees a "double standard" in criticism from such liberal groups as Media Matters. "I am admittedly a conservative journalist, and that point of view is not represented in the briefing room at all," says Gannon, who also hosts an online radio show for the Rightalk network. Other White House reporters "come from a decidedly liberal perspective, certainly left of center. . . . Call me partisan, fine, but don't let my colleagues off the hook. They're partisan too, but they don't admit it."

There was a whopping inaccuracy in Gannon's question when he told Bush that "Harry Reid was talking about soup lines." Jim Manley, a spokesman for the Senate minority leader, calls that "outrageous" and a "lie." Gannon concedes he picked up the characterization of Reid's views from a Rush Limbaugh monologue and that Reid never referred to soup lines, but he is unapologetic about using the phrase.

Talon and GOPUSA are headed by Bobby Eberle, a Texas Republican activist, who says: "We make no bones about it: It's a partisan site." Eberle says he hired Gannon two years ago, when he was a "writer of conservative commentary," as his only Washington reporter, and that Talon deals in "facts," not editorializing. Gannon, who was turned down for a congressional press pass, says he's been stalked and threatened by some "nuts" on the left. "I'm a pioneer," he says. "Guys on the front lines, they get shot at, and hey, I'm willing to take it."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program.

[paineinthearse]

12. ATC - Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4492778

Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy
by David Folkenflik

Listen to original and Web Extra: Hear an Extended Interview between Jeff Gannon and NPR's David Folkenflik

All Things Considered, February 9, 2005 · A reporter for the conservative news site TalonNews.com resigns. The reporter, who went by the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, drew critical attention at President Bush's Jan. 26 press conference when he referred in question to Democrats "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality" on the issue of retooling Social Security.

Liberal bloggers have disclosed that Gannon, who has little previous journalism experience, was easily granted a coveted White House press pass -- even though he did not work for a traditional or established news organization. He also routinely asked "softball" questions at press conferences. There are also allegations that Gannon is linked to Web sites with homoerotic themes.

Gannon spoke with NPR's David Folkenflik the day before he resigned. He says he is open about his conservative point of view, but that he is just as valid a journalist as other reporters in the White House press corps.

[paineinthearse]

13. Dissident Voice - Why is Jeff Gannon Lying?

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb05/Brengle0207.htm

Why is Jeff Gannon Lying?
by Katherine Brengle
www.dissidentvoice.org
February 7, 2005

The Boston Globe and Editor & Publisher have been tracking the Jeff Gannon story for a while. Unfortunately, in light of the State of the Union, the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales, and the ongoing battle for Social Security, this story has been set on the backburner of the political commentary stovetop.

The controversy over Gannon is heating up due to the softball questions he consistently asks during White House press briefings and the fact that he has repeatedly been denied a White House “hard pass” press credential and has instead been granted repeated daily press passes directly from the White House Press Office. There are several reasons he has been denied a permanent pass, including the fact that the news site he writes for, TalonNews.com, could not provide evidence that they were an independent news organization, not tied to any political organization. In addition to that, The Standing Committee of Correspondents (the group of congressional reporters who oversee press credential distribution on Capitol Hill) also requires that in order to get a permanent pass, TalonNews.com would have to prove it carries paid advertising and paid circulation, as regular newspapers do. They could not do so.

Since Gannon could not get his hands on a permanent press pass, he has been regularly attending White House briefings using temporary passes issued each day -- for the past year. Gannon did make one reasonable point to E&P, “I understand their criteria, and I can see where their questions weren't fully answered. But I think their rules do not reflect the reality of a changing media.” This is a legitimate complaint -- one that many independent writers and bloggers all over the country can surely agree with. However, opening White House press briefings to all of these media outlets would overflow the very room Gannon cannot gain permanent access to. There is, unfortunately, a reason why every aspiring journalist out there can't get White House press credentials.

He went on to make a claim that holds a lot less water than this one, “The story isn't me, the story is that it doesn't seem that there is room for a single conservative in the White House press corps.”

more.......

[paineinthearse]

14. Hannity - "terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200502100001

Hannity on Gannon: "a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News"

Conservative radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have cited Talon News, the online "news" organization that appears to be more of a Republican political advocacy group than a media outlet, and its former Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent, Jeff Gannon, as sources on their radio broadcasts.

In addition to citing both Talon News and Gannon on ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show, Hannity has referred to Gannon as "a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News," and according to a program summary on the website for San Francisco radio station KSFO, which carries Hannity's show, Gannon was a guest on the February 10, 2004, edition of the program. The program summary for that broadcast states: "Sean spends a moment with Jeff Gannon, Washington Bureau Chief for Talon News.com. Jeff talks about his daily meetings with White House Press Secretary Scott McCellan ." Media Matters for America demonstrated that Gannon has served as a lifeline for White House press secretary Scott McClellan at press briefings and that Gannon copied GOP documents and releases verbatim and without attribution for use in his articles.

Here are three other instances in which Hannity cited Gannon or Talon News as a source on his radio show:

HANNITY: He's apparently a liberal talk show host known for his disdain of the president and the Bush administration. And a report says that he called for the death penalty for the president and the Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes. He apparently denied a report last week by Talon News, but the Internet site -- and said yesterday that they have a tape that proves that this host, Mike Webb, made the statements on the air.

HANNITY: And apparently they're also, according to Jeff Gannon, the -- Talon News -- this woman, Mary Mapes, this Dallas producer , is under pressure for the network, and now there's doubts about their authenticity has taken place. Let me tell you what that means. That means everything's going downhill. And you watch. There's going to be somebody that has to take the fall here, and it's not going to be uh, it's not going to be Dan Rather.

HANNITY: Now, Jeff Gannon, who is a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News, actually shot me an e-mail today, and he's about to break a story in an exclusive about these CBS documents.

On the September 23, 2004, edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show, host Limbaugh cited Talon News as "our source" for a story about an email sent by progressive group MoveOn.org to its supporters linking the prevalence of hurricanes in Florida at the time to global warming and the Bush administration's environmental policies. The article, titled "MoveOn: Bush to Blame for 'Extreme' Hurricane Season," has been removed from the Talon News site (along with all other archived Talon "news reports" since the organization came under scrutiny) but is available here, in Google's cache. After citing Talon News, Limbaugh read excerpts of the article and concluded: "This is total BS. ... f global warming were actually happening, there would be fewer hurricanes."

As Media Matters noted, Limbaugh bragged that a quote he fabricated had surfaced in a question Gannon asked of Bush at a January 26 White House press conference. Limbaugh said he was "flattered and honored and proud to have a point made by this program represented in the press conference and asked by a reporter." Limbaugh later falsely claimed that Gannon's question was "accurate."

— J.C.

Posted to the web on Wednesday February 9, 2005 at 7:24 PM EST

[paineinthearse]

15. CNN - White House reporter's credentials questioned

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/09/white.house.reporter/

White House reporter's credentials questioned
Man worked for Web site owned by Republican activist
Wednesday, February 9, 2005 Posted: 11:24 PM EST (0424 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A New York congresswoman asked the White House to explain Wednesday why a man who worked for a news Web site owned by a GOP activist was able to obtain White House press credentials under an assumed name. James Guckert, who reported from the White House for the Talon News Service under the name "Jeff Gannon," announced he was quitting the business "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family." "Because of the attention being paid to me, I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News," he said in a statement posted Wednesday on his Web site.

In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat, questioned why Guckert routinely received credentials for White House news briefings. Slaughter linked Guckert's case to recent revelations that two conservative columnists who supported Bush administration policies had received government money. "It appears that 'Mr. Gannon's' presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your administration," Slaughter wrote. The White House had no comment.

The House and Senate press galleries declined Guckert's request for credentials in 2003. Julie Davis, chairwoman of the Senate press gallery's executive committee, said Guckert could not demonstrate any separation between Talon News and GOPUSA, a Republican consulting group. Both organizations are run by Bobby Eberle, a Texas GOP activist. Many Talon News articles also appeared as news releases on the GOPUSA Web site, said Davis, a reporter for The Sun newspaper of Baltimore, Maryland.

In a statement on the Talon Web site, Eberle referred to "Gannon's" resignation and said, "I understand and support Jeff's decision."
Slaughter said she was writing at the request of senior editors of the Niagara Falls Reporter in her Buffalo-area district. The newspaper ran an open letter questioning "how a partisan political organization and an individual with no credentials as a reporter -- and apparently operating under an assumed name -- landed a coveted spot in the White House press corps."

more......

[paineinthearse]

16. WP - Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12640-2005Feb9.html

Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page C01

The conservative reporter who asked President Bush a loaded question at a news conference last month resigned yesterday after liberal bloggers uncovered his real name and raised questions about his background. Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses with sexually provocative names. He has been under scrutiny since asking Bush how he could work with Senate Democratic leaders "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality." The information about Gannon was posted on the liberal sites Daily Kos, Atrios and World o' Crap.

Under the headline "A Voice of the New Media: The Voice Goes Silent," Gannon wrote on his personal Web page that because of the attention "I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News" and that he is quitting "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family." Gannon added in a brief interview that "my family has been victimized" and that he wanted to "put some separation between Talon News and the White House."

Gannon's resignation highlights the no-holds-barred atmosphere of the Web, which both enabled him to function as a reporter -- his stories appeared on a site founded by Texas Republican activist Bobby Eberle -- and produced a swarm of critics determined to expose him. Among the domain names registered by Gannon's company several years ago, but never launched, were Hotmilitarystud.com, Militaryescorts.com and Militaryescortsm4m.com, along with Exposejessejackson.com. The bloggers also have linked to a since-withdrawn America Online photo of a man who appears to be Gannon, posing in his underwear, with a screen name bearing the initials "JDG."

Markos Moulitsas, a San Francisco liberal who writes the popular Kos site, said of Gannon: "He has been extremely anti-gay in his writings. He's been a shill for the Christian right. So there's a certain level of hypocrisy there that I thought was fair game and needed to be called out." Asked if digging into someone's personal and business activities was proper retaliation, Moulitsas said: "If that's what it took to really bring attention to him, it's one of those unfortunate facts of reality in the way we operate today. It's sex that really draws attention to these things."

more....

[paineinthearse]

17. Salon - Fake news, fake reporter

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/10/gannon_affair/


Talon News reporter "Jeff Gannon" lobs White House spokesman Scott McClellan a question at a Feb. 1, 2005, press briefing.

Fake news, fake reporter
Why was a partisan hack, using an alias and with no journalism background, given repeated access to daily White House press briefings?

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Eric Boehlert

Feb. 10, 2005 | When President Bush bypassed dozens of eager reporters from nationally and internationally recognized news outlets and selected Jeff Gannon to pose a question at his Jan. 26 news conference, Bush's recognition bestowed instant credibility on the apparently novice reporter, as well as the little-known conservative organization he worked for at the time, called Talon News. That attention only intensified when Gannon used his nationally televised press conference time to ask Bush a loaded, partisan question -- featuring a manufactured quote that mocked Democrats for being "divorced from reality."

Gannon's star turn quickly piqued the interest of many online commentators, who wondered how an obvious Republican operative had been granted access to daily White House press briefings normally reserved for accredited journalists. Two weeks later, a swarming investigation inside the blogosphere into Gannon and Talon News had produced all sorts of damning revelations about how Talon is connected at the hip to a right-wing activist organization called GOPUSA, how its "news" staff consists largely of volunteer Republican activists with no journalism experience, how Gannon often simply rewrote GOP press releases when filing his Talon dispatches. It also uncovered embarrassing information about Gannon's past as well as his fake identity. When Gannon himself this week confirmed to the Washington Post that his name was a pseudonym, it only added to the sense of a bizarre hoax waiting to be exposed.

On Tuesday night, the reporter who apparently saw himself as a trailblazing conservative "embedded with the liberal Washington press corps" abruptly quit his post as Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News, that after earlier taunting those digging into his past that he was "hiding in plain sight." Contacted by e-mail for a comment, Gannon referred Salon to the message posted on his Web site: "Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life. Thank you to all those who supported me."

The Gannon revelations come on the heels of the discovery that Bush administration officials signed lucrative contracts with several conservative pundits who hyped White House initiatives and did not disclose the government's payments. The Talon News fiasco raises serious questions about who the White House is allowing into its daily press briefings. In other words, how can a reporter using a fake name and working for a fake news organization get press credentials from the White House, let alone curry enough favor with the notoriously disciplined Bush administration to get picked by the president in order to ask fake questions? The White House did not return Salon's calls seeking answers to those questions.

more.....

[paineinthearse]

18. Moon Press International - Blogger quits after online investigations

http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/?action=fullnews&id=70207

Blogger quits after online investigations:

: WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 : The White House correspondent for a news organization largely funded by GOPUSA announced he is quitting amid criticism of his objectivity. A writer who goes by the name Jeff Gannon said on his personal Web site, jeffgannon.com: "Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News." However, Talon News is funded in large part by GOPUSA, a company with ties to the Texas Republican Party, the Web log MediaCitizen.com reported.

Gannon is not the writer's actual name, but it the name under which he received daily credentials from the White House press office, MediaCitizen.com said. Bloggers had been investigating Gannon's background, including his objectivity because he has asked Bush administration officials soft questions and quoted Republican National Committee releases verbatim.

Some had questioned whether Gannon was a plant by the Bush administration, but Gannon said on his Web site he neither supported nor was supported by any politicians.

United Press International

[paineinthearse]

19. Raw Story / The Hill - Daschel aides elated

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=53

2/10/2005

Meanwhile, in other places on the Hill, former aides to Sen. Tom Daschle, who lost a bruising election against now-Sen. John Thune, gloated over the ouster of Talon News’ ‘reporter’ Jeff Gannon. Former aides to ex-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) were among those cheering Wednesday's abrupt resignation of reporter Jeff Gannon from Talon News, a Web site affiliated with the conservative-activist site GOPUSA.

Daschle aides are elated because Gannon wrote extensively about the South Dakota Senate race, and former Daschle aides claim that the writer was essentially carrying water for Sen. John Thune's (R-S.D.) successful campaign. Gannon fired away at everything linked to Daschle's campaign, even writing a spate of articles attacking the dean of the state's political writers, Sioux Falls Argus-Leader columnist Dave Kranz, for allegedly shilling for Daschle.

"He and Thune's campaign worked hand in hand", said one former Daschle aide. "This guy became a dumping ground for opposition research."

[paineinthearse]

20. BG - Reporter tied to GOP quits over scrutiny

Note: Wirzbicki and Savage were the only reporters and the Boston Globe was the only MSM newspaper thave gave Gannongate any serious ink prior to the "resignation".

================================================================

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/02/10/reporter_tied_to_gop_quits_over_scrutiny?mode=PF

Reporter tied to GOP quits over scrutiny
By Alan Wirzbicki and Charlie Savage, Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff | February 10, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Jeff Gannon, the reporter whose GOP connections, lack of conventional journalistic credentials, and softball questioning of President Bush raised questions about the White House's decision to grant him access to news conferences, abruptly quit yesterday after bloggers connected him to websites apparently devoted to gay sex. Gannon, who uses a pseudonym, posted a message on his website saying that recent scrutiny had made it impossible for him to continue covering the White House for TalonNews.com, a website operated by a Texas Republican Party operative that has run articles skeptical of what it calls ''the homosexual agenda."

''The voice goes silent," Gannon, whose real name is James Dale Guckert, wrote. ''Because of the attention being paid to me, I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family, I have decided to return to private life."

Gannon posted the announcement shortly after a group of liberal bloggers posted reports saying they had connected another of his identities to the registration records for website domains such as hotmilitarystud.com, militaryescort.com, and militaryescortm4m.com. The websites are either inactive or shielded by a password. Although he would not comment about those reports, Gannon told the Globe yesterday that it was entirely his decision to resign from Talon, where many of his reports over the past two years have been criticized for consisting largely of passages from official press releases reprinted verbatim.

Gannon came under scrutiny after Bush called on him during a rare and nationally televised news conference two weeks ago. Gannon's question attacked Democrats as having ''divorced themselves from reality" and repeated an allegation against Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, that turned out to be a joke by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

more.....

[paineinthearse]

21. More coverage today - summary.

Google search for "Jeff Gannon"

Results 1 - 10 of about 102 for jeff-gannon. (0.03 seconds)

Sorted by date


Unconfirmed Sources
Unconfirmed Sources (satire) - 19 minutes ago
... Now the latest, and to this writers mind the most interesting, "reporter" Jeff Gannon, who runs the Conservative Republican website Talon-News and was given a ...

Was White House 'reporter' paid?
OfficialWire, NY - 1 hour ago
... one is left wondering whether or not James Guckert, who reported from the White House for the Talon News Service using a false name—"Jeff Gannon"—was being ...

Was White House 'reporter' paid?
IdentityCrisis.com, NY - 1 hour ago
... one is left wondering whether or not James Guckert, who reported from the White House for the Talon News Service using a false name "Jeff Gannon" was being ...

White House asked to explain role of Web site reporter at ...
Palm Beach Post, FL - 1 hour ago
Louise Slaughter, DN.Y., called for an explanation of how a Talon News reporter who used the pseudonym "Jeff Gannon" was admitted to White House briefings. ...

Rep. Slaughter Calls on President Bush to Explain Emerging White ...
ILCA Online, Washington D.C. - 3 hours ago
... of the House Committee on Rules, sent a letter to President George W. Bush today asking him to explain how discredited "reporter" Jeff Gannon was credentialed ...

His ID exposed, reporter quits
Chicago Tribune - 3 hours ago
... Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses ...

Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose
TheDay (subscription), CT - 3 hours ago
... Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses ...

Bush press pal quits over gay prostie link
New York Daily News, NY - 3 hours ago
... "The voice goes silent," Jeff Gannon wrote on his Web site. "In consideration of the welfare of me and my family, I have decided to return to private life.". ...

National Desk
New York Sun (subscription), NY - 5 hours ago
Late last month, liberal groups, including the press watchdog organization Media Matters, accused Jeff Gannon of Talon News of being a GOP-affiliated plant. ...

White House reporter quits under scrutiny
The News Journal, DE - 6 hours ago
... James D. Guckert, who reported under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, resigned late Tuesday as Washington bureau chief for Talon News, a conservative Internet news ...

White House queried on media policy
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 6 hours ago
... Louise Slaughter, DN.Y., called for an explanation of how a Talon News reporter who used the pseudonym "Jeff Gannon" was admitted to White House briefings. ...

Reporter tied to GOP quits over scrutiny
Boston Globe - 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON -- Jeff Gannon, the reporter whose GOP connections, lack of conventional journalistic credentials, and softball questioning of President Bush raised ...

Also: Former Daschle aides reveal over outing of Talon News ‘ ...
Raw Story, MA - 9 hours ago
... Tom Daschle, who lost a bruising election against now-Sen. John Thune, gloated over the ouster of Talon News’ ‘reporter’ Jeff Gannon. ...

Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose
Washington Post - 10 hours ago
... Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses ...

Statement concerning former Washington, DC correspondent Jeff ...
The Conservative Voice - 10 hours ago
Talon News Washington, DC reporter and White House Correspondent Jeff Gannon submitted his resignation from our organization effective February 8, 2005. ...

White House reporter's credentials questioned
CNN - 10 hours ago
James Guckert, who reported from the White House for the Talon News Service under the name "Jeff Gannon," announced he was quitting the business "in ...

Fake news, fake reporter
Salon - 11 hours ago
... 10, 2005 | When President Bush bypassed dozens of eager reporters from nationally and internationally recognized news outlets and selected Jeff Gannon to pose ...

Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy
NPR (audio), D.C. - 12 hours ago
... TalonNews resigns. The reporter, who went by the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, drew critical attention at President Bush's Jan. 26 press ...

The Leftwing Media Gets Their Scalp: Jeff Gannon Resigns from ...
Men's News Daily, CA - 13 hours ago
... Second, to those of you who seem to believe I should have had an interest in “Jeff Gannon’s” (pseudonym) personal life, before I wrote the article, I didn ...

Hannity on Gannon: "a terrific Washington bureau chief and White ...
Media Matters for America, DC - 14 hours ago
... of a Republican political advocacy group than a media outlet, and its former Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent, Jeff Gannon, as sources on ...

[paineinthearse]

22. COX - White House queried on media policy

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/211439_presscorps10.html

White House queried on media policy
Web-site reporter using pseudonym allowed in briefings

Thursday, February 10, 2005

By SCOTT SHEPARD
COX NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON -- In a letter to President Bush yesterday, Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., called for an explanation of how a Talon News reporter who used the pseudonym "Jeff Gannon" was admitted to White House briefings. Gannon resigned late Tuesday amid a flurry of accusations about his professional credentials and links to the Republican Party and could not be reached for comment. "It appears that 'Mr. Gannon's' presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your administration," wrote Slaughter, a senior member of the House Rules Committee who has been active in media fairness and ownership issues.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he had not seen the letter from Slaughter, but dismissed her suggestion that Gannon was allowed into White House news briefings to help promote Bush's political agenda. "She must not be following the briefings too closely, because she'd see that here are a number of people in that room that are advocates," McClellan said. "There are a number of people who express their views in that briefing room." But liberal bloggers allege that Gannon is, in fact, James "J.D." Guckert and that Web sites such as hotmilitarystud.com, militaryescorts.com and militaryescorts4m.com are registered to the same owner as Gannon's Web site, jeffgannon.com. All the sites are down and not accessible.

Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz told CNN yesterday that the liberal bloggers may have gone "too far" in investigating Gannon's personal life in the weeks since he asked a question at a presidential news conference that included criticism of Senate Democrats and, thereby, attracted national attention. But John Aravosis, who operates the AMERICAblog Web site, where the allegations about Gannon are summarized, said in response to Kurtz that his investigation of Gannon was motivated by "the family-values hypocrisy."

He also condemned him regarding the outing of Valerie Plame. According to The Washington Post, Gannon's name was among those of journalists targeted for questioning by the federal prosecutors investigating the White House leak of an internal CIA memo that named the wife of Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador and Iraq war critic, as a covert CIA agent. In articles and in questions posed to McClellan at the briefings, Gannon was frequently unflattering in his portrayal of Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004."

more....

[paineinthearse]

23. Delaware News Journal - White House reporter quits under scrutiny

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/10whitehouserepor.html

White House reporter quits under scrutiny

Ex-Wilmington resident with alleged pro-Bush leanings resigns as bureau chief for Net news outlet

By JENNIFER BROOKS / News Journal Washington Bureau
02/10/2005

WASHINGTON -- A former Wilmington resident whose softball questions at White House press conferences have prompted heated criticism from online media watchdog groups has sworn off presidential press conferences. James D. Guckert, who reported under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, resigned late Tuesday as Washington bureau chief for Talon News, a conservative Internet news outlet owned by the Web site GOPUSA. Guckert came under increasing criticism from Democrats and watchdog groups who said he acted more like an administration ally than an objective journalist during White House briefings. Guckert had regularly attended White House press conferences since 2003. But he shot into the spotlight last month after one of his questions aired during a nationally televised press conference.

After mistakenly attributing a joke by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh about soup lines to the Senate Democratic leadership, Guckert asked the president: "You've said you're going to reach out to these people . How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?" Guckert then came under withering scrutiny from Democratic activists and media watchdogs on the Internet. "I asked a question at a White House press briefing and this is what happened to me," Guckert told The News Journal on Wednesday after announcing his resignation. "If this is what happens to me, what reporter is safe?"

Criticism of Guckert appeared on Web sites like The Daily Kos, Mediacitizen and Eschaton. Guckert's real name was published, as was the Wilmington address where his Internet domain was registered. Bloggers also discovered that several gay pornographic domain names had been registered through his domain. Guckert said he registered those domain names for a client while he was working to set up a Web hosting business in Wilmington. "There are people out there who will turn people's lives inside out," Guckert said. "They tried to intimidate me, punish me. Then they tried to embarrass me, and they've done a pretty good job of that."

Neither White House officials nor Talon News pressured him to resign, he said. White House press secretary Scott McClellan would call on Guckert "whenever he would be under more aggressive, hostile questions from the press," said David Brock, president of the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. "He'd call on him and he would get a complete softball." After studying transcripts of White House briefings, Brock wrote McClellan and urged him to revoke Guckert's press pass. Guckert applied for a congressional press pass last April but was rejected on the grounds that he did not work for a real news organization. Guckert did not have a permanent White House press pass. He was able to attend daily press briefings by obtaining a daily visitor's press pass, the White House press office said.

[paineinthearse]

24. NY Daily News - Bush press pal quits over gay prostie link

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/279556p-239417c.html

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Bush press pal quits
over gay prostie link
BY HELEN KENNEDY
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, February 10th, 2005

WASHINGTON - A conservative ringer who was given a press pass to the White House and lobbed softball questions at President Bush quit yesterday after left-leaning Internet bloggers discovered possible ties to gay prostitution. "The voice goes silent," Jeff Gannon wrote on his Web site. "In consideration of the welfare of me and my family, I have decided to return to private life." Gannon began covering the White House two years ago for an obscure Republican Web site (Talon-News.com). He was known for his friendly questions, including asking Bush at last month's news conference how he could work with Democrats "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality."

Gannon was also given a classified CIA memo that named agent Valerie Plame, leading to his grilling by the grand jury investigating her outing. He came under lefty scrutiny after revelations that the administration was paying conservative pundits to talk up Bush's proposals. By examining Internet records, online sleuths at DailyKos.com figured out that his real name was Jim Guckert and he owned various Web sites, including HotMilitaryStud.com, MilitaryEscorts.com and MilitaryEscortsM4M.com.

"The issue here is whether someone with connections to male prostitution was given unfettered access to the White House and copies of internal CIA documents. For a family values administration, that's pretty creepy," said John Aravosis, one of the bloggers chasing the story. The White House didn't return a call asking how someone using an alias was given daily clearance to enter the White House.

On his TalonNews Web site, Gannon had written that liberals were out to get him because he's a white conservative man who owns a gun, drives a sport-utility vehicle and is a born-again Christian. Yesterday, however, he abruptly quit, and all of the stories he wrote were erased from the Web site. A great many were on gay issues, including one detailing John Kerry's "pro-homosexual platform" that was headlined mockingly, "Kerry Could Become First Gay President."

[Nothing Without Hope]

26. Anderson Cooper did a good job with Rep. Slaughter as his guest

And she really laid it out. Here is the letter she sent to the (p)resident, which you MUST READ if you haven't yet done so:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3079325

[paineinthearse]

30. I saw that and was somewhat amazed....

In the absence of anyone from "the other side", he announced he would play "devil's advocate".

Foul.

If the "other side" was invited and declined, he should have announced who that was and why the offer was declined. Certainly the WH press office can provide a person with a bit of notice. The WH has a fully-functioning media center where he/she could go.

The media has no place in playing proxy when they cannot provide a live and living alternative view.

[Nothing Without Hope]

27. Howie Kurtz on Wolf Blitzer's show was totally biased

On Wolf Blitzer's show yesterday Howie Kurtz framed Gannongate this way: the mean liberal bloggers unfairly invaded poor "Gannon's" privacy to reveal his sexual orientation because of his political views. The whole thing became a story about the "unfairness" of "liberal bloggers," a hit against freedom of information on the internet. It was absolutely unbelievable. Nothing about the military personnel prostitution, the Plame affair, the faked ID and credentials or consistent plaigiarism, the fact that "Gannon" has served as a White House propaganda plant, or the very suspicious breach of security that was committed in order to have him where he was wanted.

It was total propaganda. Blitzer let it all go by, unchallenged. And Kurtz has an article with a similar slant in the WaPo.

Even when there IS coverage, it can be total lies.

[gristy]

31. The Dallas Morning News did a story and it's been picked up by

quite a few newspapers. Here's one: www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/10869417.htm
and here's the news.google search: www.news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=%22jeff+gannon%22&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&start=0&sa=N

There's also a story in the NYT: www.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/politics/11gannon.html

Democrats Want Investigation of Reporter Using Fake Name
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

Published: February 11, 2005

Two Democrats in Congress are pressing for investigations into how a Washington reporter who used a pseudonym managed to gain access to the White House and had access to classified documents that named Valerie Plame as a C.I.A. operative.

The Democrats, Representatives John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Louise M. Slaughter from Rochester, wrote yesterday to Patrick Fitzgerald, the independent prosecutor appointed in the Plame case, seeking an investigation into how the reporter, James D. Guckert, who used the name Jeff Gannon, had access to classified documents that revealed the identity of Ms. Plame.

more...

[paineinthearse]

32. Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Constitution Journal - priceless!

[paineinthearse]

33. New overnight 2/10-11 - Google News up to 274.

Results 1 - 10 of about 274 for jeff-gannon. (0.07 seconds)

[paineinthearse]

34. The AIM Report (conservative) - The Destruction of Jeff Gannon

The Destruction of Jeff Gannon

By Cliff Kincaid

Conservative bloggers made a name for themselves by starting the process that led to the "Rathergate" scandal. They questioned the authenticity of some alleged National Guard documents that CBS used in a campaign to smear the President's military service. This was a real scandal, in which CBS backed away from the documents, an investigation was launched, and four people were fired from the network for their work on the story. Left-wing bloggers have now made a name for themselves, and it is not pretty. They have taken the scalp of an on-line conservative journalist by the name of Jeff Gannon, who was virtually unknown until about three weeks ago. His crimes were that he was too pro-Republican, attended White House briefings, and asked questions unfair to Democrats. This became, for a group called Media Matters, the "White House press room scandal." Never mind that "journalist" Helen Thomas has been giving anti-Bush political diatribes disguised as questions at these briefings for years.

A massive left-wing investigation of Gannon's personal and business affairs was launched and was said to reveal that he was associated with some homosexual-sounding website addresses. Ironically, the Media Matters group is run by former conservative and once-closeted homosexual David Brock. The Gannon "scandal" would be laughable, were it not for the fact that Gannon's personal privacy has been invaded and his mother, in her 70s, had to endure harassing telephone calls from those on the political left trying to dig up dirt. The campaign against Gannon demonstrates the paranoid mentality and mean-spirited nature of the political left.

But the mainstream media did their dirty work, too. Liberal journalists at The Boston Globe, using material from Brock, weighed in with their own account of this controversial journalist and his employer, Talon News, owned by a Texas Republican activist named Bobby Eberle. Despite all the innuendo and controversy, the fact remains that Gannon had done some excellent political stories on a wide range of subjects, including the CIA and former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. Gannon could have survived the charge of having a conservative bias but when his personal life and family became targets, he decided to call it quits.


It all started when Gannon's writings were "exposed" for having too many statements taken directly out of White House press releases. Gannon apparently believed that covering the White House meant that he should actually report, in long and complete sentences, what the White House actually said on various public policy issues. He was also accused of tossing softball questions to White House spokesman Scott McClellan and the President himself.

more...

Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at [e-mail]

[paineinthearse]

35. Just cross-posted this thread to Rep. Conyers's new blog

http://www.johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={B166974A-C132-4EC3-9682-FE6E08C1A584}

[grannylib]

36. I've seen precious little about this scandal for about the last four weeks

It seems to have flown almost completely under the radar, except for Olbermann and a few (VERY FEW) others (Amy Goodman at Democracy Now was another)
Of course, we are all distracted now by Terri Schiavo and Wacko Jacko and whatever other distractions the Poodle Press wants to focus on; who has time to quibble over a little thing like the mis-administration of the Chimp planting reporters?
Or of citizens being hauled off by police for daring to ask the Chimp a non-pre-approved question at one of his little 'town hall meetings?'
Or of Congress passing that damned bankruptcy bill? Or the one allowing oil drilling in the ANWR? or on and on and on....