AP (Associated Press) Gets Helen Thomas’ Old Seat, Fox News To Front Row (AP's old seat)

[Tx4obama]

Source: Mediate.com

The White House Correspondents Association has reportedly reached a decision on who gets Helen Thomas’s much-coveted briefing room seat. From Mike Allen:

Congrats to White House Correspondents’ Board on its hard work: AP moves to Helen’s center seat, Fox to AP’s front-row seat, NPR to 2nd row.

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/ap-gets-helen-thomass-old-seat-fox-news-to-front-row/

[xultar]

1. They'll be lying and said the WH picked AP in 3. 2. 1....

[backscatter712]

3. Indeed.

Most people don't know that the WHCA is not the White House, but a press organization that does not answer to the White House.

Though I'd still give good money to see Obama tell FOX News "We thought about giving Helen's seat to you, but then realized that those seats can only be given to journalists."

[provis99]

2. how is the AP any different from Fox News?

bunch of right wing fascists run the AP, just like Fox news, and the crap they laughingly call "reporting" is no different than the press releases from the RNC.

[flyarm]

4. what?????? Jeff Gannon Guckert didn't get the seat?????????

might as well have!

[Greenheron]

5. Boy Rupert

I thought Rupert Murdoch sat on the board at AP or had some ownership in that shit.Anybody confirm?

[Grassy Knoll]

6. True story ........

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/14/murdoch-zell-appointed-to_n_96566.html

[Soylent Brice]

15. ...

x(
DOH!

[sabrina 1]

7. That is what happens when the American People have no say

in the protection of the First Amendment. The only real journalist in the WH Press Corps was driven out her job. Until Americans start standing up against this kind of censorship, they will never have a free press.

I never watch the WH press briefings. They are all too predictable, like a play that is staged for public consumption.

This could only happen in America. Real journalists would have protested Helen's forced resignation by not showing up for the next session. But not one voice was raised in her defense.

When the Canadian press corps were told to watch what they say a few years about by Bush-fan, Harper, when he showed up the next time for a press conference, there was no one there. And that settled the matter.

It's so easy for the people to exercise their power if they want to. But they have to have principles to do that.

[Pavulon]

11. Yep if her comment was not so repugnant she would have been fine..(nt)

[sabrina 1]

25. What was repugnant was the deliberate distortion

of what she said, the rush to judgement, people like Ari Fleischer, himself a traitor who got away with participating in the outing of a U.S. undercover agent, like Breitbart, were allowed to lead the witch hunt and as usual, as in the case of Shirley Sherrod, the 'left' and the media rushed to show how 'fair' they are and in the their haste, perpetrated yet another shameful injustice.

You are very much in the minority on this. Everyone knows what she meant. And all that is happening as a result of these kinds of witch hunts is a growing anger and awareness of the need to stand up and put a stop to the destruction of OUR rights by hysterical lunatics like Breitbart and Fleischer et al. Overwhelmingly in ever poll I have seen, and in real life, people were angered by what happened to Helen Thomas. And I don't think we've heard the end of it.

She was not the one most harmed by this. The American people were the real victims.

It's difficult to believe that any progressive would judge someone on a quick comment as they are leaving an event and refuse to listen to the person most likely to know the intent of what they said. Or to even have any interest in their explanation. In fact it's shameful and the only conclusion has to be that there is an ulterior motive or that it was based on bigotry.

As we all know the latest acceptable targets of bigotry in this country are people of Arab and/or Muslim descent. Bigotry in any form is reprehensible and many people believe that Helen Thomas was a victim of it.

Shame on the press for not doing their work on this story.

[saigon68]

19. Today's Version of the 5 O'Clock Follies

The Five o'clock Follies is a derogatory term from the Vietnam War for the daily official military press briefings held for reporters in Saigon.

The "Five o'clock Follies," became the baseline reporting on the war. Military officials provided news releases and verbal accounts of battlefield and air activity. They became infamous for their rosy scenarios about the war. The briefings were much ridiculed - especially by reporters who never went into the field.

But the best reporters and news organizations only used these official pronouncements as an on-the-record, official version of events to compare with information from field reporters and other sources. They would take the official word, run it by soldiers actually fighting the war, and combine and contrast the official military view with what was really happening across Vietnam.

During the Gulf War, the military changed the time of the press briefings to disassociate themselves from the Vietnam era. So, during Desert Storm they were known as the "Four o'clock Follies."

http://everything2.com/title/Five+o%2527clock+Follies

[sabrina 1]

26. Thank you for that information.

Personally I don't believe anything that comes from the MSM without checking it with multiple other sources.

I wish we had those standards today, the ones you mention during the Vietnam era. Today, there is no one who will check with real reporters, like Dahr Jamail or Robert Fisk who have actually been in war zones bringing back devastating news of both wars, and put them on the air.

Even Sy Hersch praised the work of Dahr Jamail, and Robert Fisk is world respected journalist, and I go people like them for the real news of our wars. But we will never see them on the MSM.

[kgnu_fan]

8. us media dead

[SILVER__FOX52]

9. It doesn't matter, anymore...........

The MSM is nothing more then the Bureau of propaganda and infotainment. They are dying and they don't seem to know why. NOBODY, with an intellect, gains or trusts information, from CNN, the networks and especially Fox. The internet rocks. Power to the people! Keep the Comcast thugs away from my DU. FCC do your GD job!!

[LeFleur1]

20. And that's why the Internet...

...will be shut down. One way or another it won't be the free wheeling info passing entity that it is today. I'd bet on it.

[howmad1]

10. So why the hell does Faux still get a front row seat?

This is such bullshit. Faux probably has a permaneant contract out on Obama guaranteeing them a front row seat anywhere in the WH.

[quakerboy]

17. Whatever. Moveon sent me an email saying "we beat Fox"

So it must be true.

[Bluebear]

12. RIP American journalism

[Divine Discontent]

13. can a super wealthy liberal who actually believes in REAL reporting please start a major news

reporting service, so we can get FOX-F****NG NEWS off the front damned row at the White House???!!


SERIOUSLY?? FAUX NOISE gets a front row seat? They're not even close to news, and anytime I quickly find myself landing on that channel, I laugh at the idiocy being spouted and wonder, how does ANYONE watch this for 5 minutes, let alone 5 hours, like some do daily!

AP can come up with some doozies in their reports, so I guess they're better than Faux, but man, please rich libs, start a real reporting arm that we can follow and not have to be tied down to propaganda.

[BeHereNow]

14. Don't need to look outside to know which way the wind blows.

It's over.
Officially over.

"Good night and good luck."

BHN

[annm4peace]

16. sick

they need to kick all faux news out the door.

[Kablooie]

18. The White House still hopes to curry favor with Fox and the GOP I guess.

[semillama]

21. Will they need to install a spit guard between the FOX new seat and the podium?

Otherwise, the laundry bills for the press secretary will bankrupt him.

[librechik]

22. Obama's Press team "Maybe they'll stop picking on us and lying now" *

haha--nope (* fictitious quote)

[BlancheSplanchnik]

23. goddammit, and I just signed a Move-On petition on this. Godfuckingdammit.

here's the comment I added, in case my feelings on this aren't clear enough:

"I can't support this petition strongly enough! Responsible journalism is a keystone of a healthy democracy. Since its establishment, Fox "News" has been purposefully expanding GOP/Corporate interests by pandering to irrational fear, arrogant hate and sordid sensationalism.

They exemplify the lowest, ugliest urges of human nature.

The result is the destruction of the public's ability to discern between good and bad, truth and lies.

Do NOT let them continue their campaign to strangle us all through ignorant conservative rage."

[underpants]

24. Truly a dark day

complete nonsense