Saturday, February 25, 2017

Trump v. Free Press; a Sign to Watch For

When Spicer the Liar or others want to hold mini-conferences, the pool reporter is always present. That reporter is anonymous (as far as the readership is concerned) and generates the stories for everyone else. When a president leaves the residence, a pool reporter is supposed to go with.

The pool reporter is selected by the White House Correspondents' Association. Depending on the circumstances, the pool reporter may not be a member of the WHCA; if a president is on a family trip and isn't expected to make the news, the pool reporter may be a reporter from the nearest big city newspaper.

So the thing to watch for is if Spicer the Liar or any other White House official tries to designate who will be the pool reporter, then know that the Trump Administration has openly declared war on the First Amendment and the Constitution.

5 comments:

  1. Who said the press gets to designate the reporter?

    Yeah, the press. Who thinks they get to set the rules.

    Hint: They don't.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My God, really? The person with things to hide gets to choose who watches? Every time, all the time?

    B., you seem intelligent, but I think that you are missing a very obvious series of red flags here. You would have had a cow if the previous Administration did even a fifth of this, can you at least agree with that statement?

    ReplyDelete
  3. The WHCA was formed to combat fear of an attempt by the Congress in 1914 to dictate who could cover the President. Wilson, who was probably the most autocratic president of the 20th Century, likely would have tried to do so, if he could.

    The WHCA was formed to preserve press fredom. No wonder Trump (and his lackeys) hate the idea that Trump can't dictate who reports on him.

    That's the stuff of two-bit South American dictators.

    Like this guy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Molly Ivins said that guys who have made a lot of money in business have a very hard time working in a system of checks and balances.

    -Doug in Oakland

    ReplyDelete
  5. No, i think that Barry played it smart, and tried to placate the press. But he didn't have to, and they were friendly to him even before he ran for election. Trump is seen by the press as an enemy, and has been ever since he decided to run.

    Again, nopresident owes the press anything....any access.

    ReplyDelete

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