Kinkaid: The "Real Reporters"

[paineinthearse]

Before the article, some information about the author: Cliff Kincaid is Editor of the AIM Report. Cliff Kincaid is a veteran journalist and media critic. Cliff concentrated in journalism and communications at the University of Toledo, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He has written or co-authored nine books on media and cultural affairs and foreign policy issues. Cliff Kincaid has appeared on Hannity & Colmes, The O’Reilly Factor, Crossfire and has been published in the Washington Post, Washington Times, Chronicles, Human Events and Insight. Web Site: www.AIM.org, E-Mail: [e-mail]

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http://www.aim.org/media_monitor_print/2717_0_2_0/

The "Real Reporters"
By Cliff Kincaid | March 2, 2005

Did Jeff Gannon use a fake name to get a White House press pass? That's the claim that has surfaced in the coverage of this controversial journalist. But Gannon's former employer, Bobby Eberle, says he used his real name and Social Security number to get through security procedures at the White House. He chose the name "Gannon" to use publicly for obvious reasons; Guckert just doesn't sound appealing. The stories about his personal life don't sound appealing, either. But it's highly ironic that Media Matters, which is run by a formerly closeted homosexual, should have started the anti-Gannon campaign. We don't know if Gannon was a "gay escort' or if he was trying to leave that lifestyle. But we do know that the homosexual angle was used to destroy him. And this came from liberals who claim to be tolerant.

The use of "fake" names has not been uncommon in journalism. The book, Hawk's Authors' Pseudonyms, is called "the most comprehensive volume on authors and their pseudonyms…with significant additions of Poets, Playwrights, Journalists, Columnists, Screenwriters, Cartoonists and more." Samuel Langhorne Clemens was probably the most famous author who used a pen name. Jeff Gannon is no Mark Twain, but the use of a pen name is something that is not just reserved for successful authors. Another charge made against Gannon is that he was a secret White House agent. There's no evidence of that, either. Gannon worked for Talon News, which, along with GOPUSA, are owned by Eberle, a Texas Republican activist. While the operation clearly has a Republican or conservative bias, there's no evidence that it was created as part of a Bush White House plot. On Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume claimed that Talon News was "funded by a conservative supporter of the president who has a lot of money." Eberle might dispute that. He started his company four years ago and only now is turning a profit.

If bias is supposed to get one banished from the White House press briefings, Hume pointed out that Helen Thomas has been attending these briefings for years and frequently uses them to offer "very opinionated" questions. Mara Liasson of National Public Radio shot back: "Helen Thomas is Helen Thomas," which doesn't prove a thing. She may have been a so-called straight-news reporter years ago but turned to bashing Bush and writing an opinion column. "We know who she is," Liasson claimed. But Gannon's employer, Talon News, was carried on-line. There was no secret about that. His use of a pen name shouldn't have confused anybody about his political orientation.

Host Chris Wallace piped in, saying that a line had to be drawn in terms of who is a legitimate journalist. He said that if too many on-line journalists get into these White House press briefings, the "real reporters" there wouldn't be able to get any work done. Wallace should rethink his position. That's a slippery slope that will play into the hands of the "real reporters" from the liberal media who want to dominate the White House press corps and exclude from their ranks those with a different political orientation. If they had their way and could get away with it without a controversy, they would probably vote to exclude Fox News.

:puke: more (if you can stand it).........

[paineinthearse]

1. Related Kincaid article from 2/28 - Watchdogs Ignore Facts in "GannonGate"

Watchdogs Ignore Facts in "GannonGate"

http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/k/kincaid/2005/kincaid022805.htm

February 28, 2005
by Cliff Kincaid

Fox News Watch is proving to be one of the most disappointing programs airing on the Fox News Channel. Purporting to be media critics, the show’s panelists make accusations about the media that are themselves in dire need of correction. In a show during the presidential campaign, a panelist and “media writer” named Neal Gabler astonished the audience by claiming that a “secret email” proved that a New York Times reporter was actually biased against John Kerry. Despite repeated requests to provide the explosive evidence, he refused to do so. Host Eric Burns also refused to respond to several requests for comment about the matter. But the February 26 edition of the program showed Gabler, Burns and other panelists going even further off the deep end, giving viewers a grossly distorted view of the affair that has been labeled “Gannongate.” If the past is any guide, don’t count on Burns & Company to correct the record in this case.

The segment concerned the conservative journalist, Jeff Gannon, who got into White House briefings and press conferences, and whose real name is James Guckert. He was forced to resign from Talon News, an on-line conservative-backed news operation, when his personal life came under scrutiny and he was linked to homosexual activity. The far left, which claims to respect peoples’ privacy, just won’t let go of this story.

Fox News Watch panelist and columnist Jim Pinkerton, who is fairly conservative on most issues, turned in the worst performance on the February 26 show, insisting that Gannon had gained access to the White House under a false name and that this constituted a major security threat that requires an investigation. This is precisely what liberal Democrats are demanding.

Pinkerton, who worked under two Republican presidents, said, “I worked in the White House for 6 years. I can tell you that clearing somebody in under a false name with the Secret Service takes an incredible amount of intervention from somebody high up in the White House to do that.” Host Eric Burns asked, “So somebody was complicit?” Pinkerton replied, “Yes.” Yet Pinkerton offered no evidence for this sensational charge and there is none. Those concerned Gannon, his former employer, and White House officials all say that he got into the White House under his real name, and no evidence to the contrary has been produced. Gannon got a daily press pass in the same way that Ralph Nader associate Russell Mokhiber has been getting access to White House briefings and asking questions about such off-beat matters as industrial hemp and the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. AIM broke the story back on February 11 about Mokhiber’s access to the White House, which he advertises on an obscure far-left website. In contrast to Gannon, who went through a journalism training program at the Leadership Institute, Mokhiber has never taken a journalism class.

:puke: more......

[theorist]

2. I sent this guy a few emails concerning his hackiness.

All I got in return was this:

"This is my first and last communication with you. Please contact
everybody on the planet. I will not respond to your threats or read
any more messages from you."

All I did was mention that I might contact his superiors because he
was subverting the Mission Statement of his organization. I suppose
that could be misinterpreted as a threat, but I prefer to think that
he's running from Truth.

[theorist]

3. And here's an alternate link to the same article.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3440

I signed up for forum access and used the same login name as I use here. Go see what Ken Hughes (Chicatibo) has to say in reply to my messages.

They must have suspended my posting priveledges, because I would have responded with something witty. I think it's nice the way it is. Their hackiness really shines.

[paineinthearse]

5. Did he reply?

I sent an email to a Washbag Moonie Times reporter once, got a really odd answer.

[theorist]

6. He replied.

His response is in quotes in my first post in this thread.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

4. He's a good guy.

He helped me write an article by answering a bunch of media-related questions through e-mail. I needed a conservative perspective. He answered promptly, and was quite helpful.

Unfortunately, he's also an idiot.