Is Snow's Appointment A "First"?

[MostlyLurks]

Ignorant of common political churn, I have this to ask: Is Snow's appointment as press secy unusual in that it takes a member of the established "press" into the administration, essentially fusing the Admin with a segment of the press?

I was under the impression that press secretaries were generally PR flacks from the coporate, business or government world, and not actual members of the press establishment.

Yes, yes, I know, this gives Snow too much credit for being a member of the "press" but you know what I mean.

Mostly

[Crazy Dave]

1. They shoulda' got Geraldo

:sarcasm:

[shain from kane]

6. Geraldo could have opened *'s Vault of Secrets, and we

would find out about who leaked Valerie Plame's name, were there ever any weapons of mass destruction, or what happened to the records of his National Guard duties. Bush crime family and Al Capone's Vault. Perfect fit. A new degree of openness.

Also, whether he used cocaine, paid for an abortion, etc.?

[Crazy Dave]

7. LOL!

I wasn't even thinking of the Al Capone vault thing :thumbsup: :hi:

[shain from kane]

13. Whenever I hear Geraldo's name, that's all I think about. Forever linked

to eternity for me. What hype!! All for nothing. There's no substance there. There's no "there" there. The beginning of the end for reality shows, and it was the beginning. Most of us would never show our face again.
But all that being said, I think that under a new policy of openness, * could save his Presidency by letting Geraldo open that Vault of Secrets.

Of course, I'm just kidding.

But maybe, just maybe, we could find out what really happens at the Crawford ranch. What is its facination? How can anyone spend one day there, let alone vacation after vacation after vacation? It's like a time share that forces you to spend every vacation there. It's becoming George Bush's Vault.

[myrna minx]

15. Oh good gawd...whenever I see or hear the name Geraldo,

I think of Jim Ward's (of the Stephanie Miller Show) impersonation of him, including the disco music. Haha. I can just see Geraldo doing poppers at the podium. :rofl:

[rusty_parts2001]

2. No, Ron Nessen of NBC worked for Gerald Ford as Press Flack

[MostlyLurks]

10. Thanks for the information.

Much as a like DU, the tendancy to ignore the point of a thread can be a bit grating, but it does make the on-point posts stand out all the more.

Thanks again.

Mostly

[ET Awful]

3. Well, there was that Goebbels guy . . .

but we won't mention him. . .

[plusfiftyfive]

8. I think maybe we should remember him!

Expecially in these days!

[MADem]

4. Even the press is calling him a "conservative commentator-journalist"

Not a 'regular' journalist...

[fooj]

5. He's NOT a professional journalist...

He's a professional propagandist.

Personally, I'm thrilled that they've made such an idiotic choice.

Peace.

[MADem]

12. Oh, I haven't heard anyone use that "professional" word!!!

He was my pick, as well. It's a dream come true...

[Jack Rabbit]

16. He's not conservative, and neither is Bush

They are right wing.

[MADem]

18. Sure, but my point was that the COMMENTATOR aspect is being highlighted

They are in essence, calling him a "qualified" journalist, in that he plays one on TV, as opposed to a QUALIFIED journalist.

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Not really, unless you are trying to make Fox a legit news organization

LBJ appointed Edward R. Murrow director of the USIA and John Chancellor director of the Voice of America.

Ron Nessen, who had been a visible correspondent at NBC News, was President Ford's press secretary.

However, there was nothing like FoxNews in those days. A few local stations might have an ideologically biased anchor (as a teenager in Los Angeles, I remember George Putnam, a shameless Cold War right winger). Other local news correspondents may have resigned their positions to run for public office; when this happened, it was just as likely to be a Republican as a Democrat. When I was growing up south of Sacramento, a local TV news man named Don Smith ran as a Republican for the State Assembly and later, while living in LA, local news anchor Baxter Ward ran for the County Board of Supervisors, a nonpartisan office. However Smith and Ward were both less editorial than Putnam. Neither tried to impose their views on their audience as Putnam did.

FoxNews is George Putnam gone national. That is probably an insult to Putnam's journalistic integrity. There is simply no pretense of objectivity. Each of the news anchors may as well be wearing Bush buttons.

ON EDIT

In the case of Nessen, I was unaware of what his political leanings were until he took the White House position. For the most part, that is as it should be.

However, nobody can doubt what Mr. Snow's leanings are; or, for that matter, those of any other FoxNews personality. Fox exists to promote right wing propaganda, not real news.

[frankly_fedup2]

11. I say they should have picked O'Liely. He has the ego and and

is narcicistic enough to be able to yell anyone down (Even our favorite, Helen Thomas). He wouldn't have taken it though. Not enough money for him to keep up his faloopha collection.

[Yupster]

14. G Gordon Liddy

would be fun to see defending Bush as press secretary.

[onenote]

17. a number of press secretaries were reporters first

including the very first press secretary, Steven Early (under FDR). Others include Charles G. Ross (Truman); Pierre Salinger (JFK); George Christian (LBJ). As far as I can tell, Snow is the second press secretary to come from the world of television (Ron Nessen during the Ford administration being the first).

onenote

[BrotherBuzz]

19. Pierre Salinger worked as a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle...

and as a contributing Editor to Collier's in the 1940s and 1950s.

[kentuck]

20. It'll be the first time a Snow came and a Snow went if...

John Snow leaves at Treasury. :)