CNN's Wolf Blitzer to Interview "Gannon" at 5 PM ET today

[dzika]

Of course, you can expect Blitzer to a little more friendly towards "Gannon" than Olberman was last night.

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Related Headline from this morning's BuzzFlash:

"Howard Kurtz and Wolf Blitzer shown to engage in journalistic malfeasance in handling of the Gannon scandal. (This is good stuff.) Is Someone Paying Their Salaries BESIDES Their So-Called News Companies? No Proof, Yet. 2/10"

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You can watch the Olbermann clip...


In Real Media format:
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/olbermann_gannon_050209-02.rm

[keithjx]

1. Self-delete n/t

[gkhouston]

2. yeah, you know that's going to be a blow, er SNOW job

I'm not expecting Blitzer to ask any hard questions. I kind of wonder where his salary's coming from these days...

[KT2000]

3. Probably a sobfest

"these people have ruined my life!"
and Woof with a box of hankies

[cornermouse]

4. Hey Wolfe.

When are you going to ask Gannon how he was able to get past the Secret Service and into the White House while using a false identity?

[slor]

5. I guess his whitewash from yesterday...

did not stick.

[geek tragedy]

6. Maybe Leslie is a client too. eom

[dzika]

7. Why does Gannon matter to the DU Election Results Forum?

Simply because his "softball" questions helped the White House squirm out of some other difficult lines of questioning during the 2004 campaign.

Additionally, he posed questions diverting attention from Bush's National Guard record while suggesting that Kerry is a traitor. (See the Olbermann video at the top of this thread)

But that's not all... Here is another article published yesterday:



Political activism continues after election
By Lauren Hoffman
News Writer
2/9/2005


Months after the presidential election, students continue to demonstrate support for political parties and causes.

Following the high turn out of voters during the 2004 election, in which 61 percent of Americans cast votes, and the subsequent inauguration of president George W. Bush, political apathy seemed likely to return to campus. Students have responded, however, by displaying continued interest in current political issues.
...
Last semester both clubs worked to organize many lecturers, rallies and protests among other student-run events.Yoder said she is especially pleased with the outcome of the events her club sponsored last semester.

Jeff Gannon, white house correspondent for Talon News, Christina Hoff Sommers, conservative author, and David Hardy, co-author of “Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man,” presented their views on campus during the presidential campaign.

http://www.bw.lehigh.edu/story.asp?ID=18372

[dzika]

8. MSNBC Report on Gannon-Gate - 2/10 @ 5:30 PM

Video in Real Media format (256k stream / 3 minutes):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/msnbc_gannon_050210-01.rm

[dzika]

9. Blitzer lobs some "softballs" at Gannon - 2/10 @ 5:50 PM ET

CNN = Fox News?

I wonder why "Gannon" decided to do his first interview on CNN



Video in Real Media format (128k stream / 4 minutes):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/cnn_blitzer_gannon_050210-01.rm

[mod mom]

10. What a lame ass POS interview, Wolf (aka Leslie) wimped out big time!

Corporate network news is DEAD. We are the new media! Fascism=Corporatism. Sold their country for the almighty $.

[darkworkz]

11. CNN coverage? Why?

The Gannon exposure is tied directly into this thread by King of the Jungle:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=319647&mesg_id=319647

Kos and Atrios haven't figured out yet that this is tied into the "Family" and it's actions in our federal government.

If they keep pushing they'll find themselves and their readers in the back room of this group and its dealings. This isn't just another "propaganda" arm of the bush neoCons. This is a direct link into the "Family's" inner sanctum.

[dzika]

12. Olbermann interviews NPR reporter about "Gannon" - 2/10 @ 8:15 PM ET

Might as well post them all in this thread...



Video in Real Media format (256k stream / 5 minutes):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/olbermann_gannon_050210-01.rm

[dzika]

13. Jeff Gannon attacks Kerry during 2004 campaign

Some "Jeff Gannon" highlights ... no longer available on the Talon News website

Following Jeff Gannon's February 8 resignation as Talon News Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent, Talon News -- which appears to be more of a Republican political advocacy group than a media outlet -- removed all archived news stories from its website. Despite Gannon's claim that he is not "someone who takes a strong position and speaks in support of that issue," a Media Matters for America review of Gannon's catalogue of work for Talon (still available as cached documents via Google) showed that Gannon often used his news articles as a platform to defend the Bush administration and attack its opponents.


"Kerry's Alleged Intern Identified"

On February 12, 2004, The Drudge Report featured an unconfirmed report concerning a supposed extramarital affair between Senator John Kerry and an unnamed woman. In a February 16, 2004, article titled "Kerry's Alleged Intern Identified, Taped Interview With Major Television Network," Gannon advanced the baseless rumor, adding the unattributed claim that the woman in question had taped an interview with "one of the major television networks" in which she substantiated the allegation. However, as Newsday columnist James P. Pinkerton pointed out the following day, "The woman, Alexandra Polier, said that all the allegations were false. And her parents issued a statement supporting not only their daughter, but also Kerry's candidacy for president." Pinkerton specifically addressed Gannon's Talon article: "Walking on the even wilder side, an online news outfit, Talon News, asserted that the woman had 'taped an interview with one of the major television networks at Christmas substantiating the alleged affair.'"


"Kerry Could Become First Gay President"

In an October 12, 2004, article titled "Kerry Could Become First Gay President," Gannon claimed that because of his "support for the pro-gay agenda," Senator Kerry "might someday be known as 'the first gay president' were he to win the White House in November." Gannon was alluding to instances in which Bill Clinton was referred to as "the first black president" for the support and popularity he drew from the African-American community. Republicans attacked Kerry on the issue of gay marriage throughout the 2004 presidential campaign.


Swift Boat Vets focus on "Kerry's bitter legacy that haunts many Vietnam veterans"

Gannon readily embraced the discredited anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (now Swift Vets and POWs for Truth), reporting the group's questionable allegations as fact. In an August 18, 2004, article, he wrote: "Kerry's broad accusations that portrayed American soldiers as 'baby killers' is part of the bitter legacy of the war hero turned antiwar activist. Many veterans that Kerry defamed have never forgiven him and have recently spoken up to oppose his election as commander in chief." In an August 20, 2004, article titled "Kerry Fires Back at Swifties, Claims Bush Behind Ads," Gannon reported a distortion repeatedly echoed by Republicans, that in Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony, Kerry "accused" American soldiers of "committing war crimes":

The group's leader John O'Neill's book, "Unfit for Command," will debut on the New York Times best-seller list at #3 this week and a new ad will begin to air on Friday. It is likely to focus on the testimony Kerry gave before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971.

His testimony is part of Kerry's bitter legacy that haunts many Vietnam veterans. Kerry's accusations of American soldiers committing war crimes cast a stain on all who served. The dashing war hero turned antiwar activist gave a boost to the movement that undermined U.S. will to continue involvement in Southeast Asia and resulted in the communist takeover of Vietnam.

Gannon again repeated the allegation in an August 25, 2004, article, writing: "The latest ad being run by the 'Swifties' centers on Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971 where he accused American soldiers of committing war crimes."

As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, in his 1971 Senate testimony, Kerry simply related the testimony of other Vietnam veterans who came home and spoke about their personal experiences at the Winter Soldier Investigation hearing in Detroit earlier that year. Testifying in his capacity as spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which organized the Winter Soldier hearing, Kerry focused blame on the leaders at that time -- not the soldiers -- for the atrocities they claimed to have committed or witnessed.

Media Matters has revealed that Gannon has lifted excerpts from Republican documents verbatim and without attribution for his "news reports," lobbed softball questions during White House press briefings and presidential press conferences, and repeatedly served as a "lifeline" for Scott McClellan. In Gannon's own words: "It's hard to say with Scott but he usually knows what he's going to get from me."


more
http://mediamatters.org/items/200502100008