Media outlets uncritically reported White House claim that it does not "employ" fake reporting

[babylonsister]

Media outlets uncritically reported White House claim that it does not "employ" fake reporting

Summary: News outlets including CNN, the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times uncritically quoted White House spokeswoman Dana Perino's response to a question about an October 23 Federal Emergency Management Agency press conference, in which the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. Perino said of the conference, "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House and we certainly don't condone it." But these news outlets failed to note previous Bush administration scandals involving "fake" reporting.

Reports on CNN and in the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times uncritically quoted White House spokeswoman Dana Perino's response to a question about an October 23 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) press conference, in which, as Washington Post columnist Al Kamen reported, "the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters." Perino said of the conference, "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House and we certainly don't condone it." But as Media Matters for America has documented, the Bush administration has a history of generating "fake" news.

Several media reports uncritically included Perino's response to the press conference without noting past Bush administration scandals involving "fake" reporting:

* An October 26 Associated Press article led by uncritically noting that "{t}he White House scolded" FEMA, adding that Perino "said it was not appropriate that the questions were posed by agency staffers instead of reporters."

* An October 27 New York Times article stated that the conference "drew a rebuke from the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff," adding that Perino said: "It's not something I would have condoned ... And they -- I'm sure -- will not do it again."

* An October 27 Los Angeles Times article stated that "{t]}he White House was not happy with FEMA's response," adding Perino's quote: "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House."

* An October 27 Washington Post article uncritically included Perino's quote: "White House press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday that 'it is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House. We certainly don't condone it. We didn't know about it beforehand. . . . They, I'm sure, will not do it again.' "

* In an October 29 Washington Post online discussion, staff writer and media critic Howard Kurtz wrote: "I don't think it's fair to blame the White House for this. Dana Perino made it quite clear that the White House did not approve of this make-believe event." Kurtz later noted Bush administration journalism scandals involving conservative columnist Armstrong Williams and "a couple of other commentators," but did not contrast these scandals with Perino's reported disapproval of the FEMA press conference.

* On the October 29 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, correspondent Jeanne Meserve reported that "{t}he White House distanced itself" from the FEMA conference and then aired Perino's quote.

As Media Matters noted, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Bush administration's use of video news releases (VNRs) -- video reports that appeared to be created by journalists instead of the government and, as The New York Times reported, many of which "were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production" -- was in violation of federal law. A May 12, 2005, statement by GAO Managing Associate General Counsel Susan A. Poling noted:

In the past year, GAO has issued two legal opinions on the production of video news releases (VNRs) that included prepackaged news stories by both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In both of these instances, we concluded that the agencies violated the federal government-wide prohibition on the use of appropriated funds for purposes of publicity or propaganda not authorized by Congress.

Media Matters has documented numerous instances in which former White House press secretary Scott McClellan turned to former Talon News "Washington Bureau Chief" Jeff Gannon -- whose real name, James Guckert, was uncovered by bloggers in February 2005 -- for softball questions, particularly during heated press conferences. In early 2005, after Media Matters and others raised questions about his work, Gannon resigned from Talon News. One week later, the Talon News website -- operated by Republican activist Bobby Eberle -- was shut down and all articles deleted. Media Matters has documented several instances in which Gannon lifted text directly from Republican materials and sources.

more...

http://mediamatters.org/items/200710300011?f=h_top

[Cha]

1. They're stenos with knee

pads, too.

[ixion]

2. They will chase Paris Hilton to the ends of the Earth, but god forbid

they are ever tasked at actually practicing real journalism.