Helen Thomas used to ask GWB tough questions and seemed like a classic liberal media member. It appears Ms. Thomas, unlike most of the MSM/SRM, has been around long enough to remember that the role of the media is to challenge the party in power, no matter which party it is.

 

She has now has much more respect from myself. The majority of the of the MSM/SRM are simply Obama lap dogs.

I heard Helen Thomas and Chip Reid asking Gibbs where was the openness and transparancy that the Obama administration had promised. Gibbs just laughed at them.

I heard Helen Thomas and Chip Reid asking Gibbs where was the openness and transparancy that the Obama administration had promised. Gibbs just laughed at them.

 

Sounds like when the jedi figured out that the Emperor was the Dark Sith and they confronted him and he laughed at them.

Not a fan of Gibbs. Even a little bit.

http://earthhopenetwork.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=2705

 

veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

 

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

Been trying to find her editorial on this that ran in today's Enquirer but cannot find it online. She slams Obama again for this.

Been trying to find her editorial on this that ran in today's Enquirer but cannot find it online. She slams Obama again for this.

 

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/helenthomas/20003187/detail.html

thanks.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/helenthomas/20003187/detail.html

 

 

 

 

But it is news when Obama administration officials -- the folks who proclaimed that they would bring unprecedented openness and transparency to government -- fall all over themselves trying to manipulate news briefings and attempting amateurish stagecraft at public meetings.

 

The president relies on a list of handpicked reporters to call on at his formal news conferences -- and the fortunate few are not necessarily accredited reporters but include new age self-appointed journalists or anyone with a laptop.

 

The White House staff selects both the professionals and ringers for the call-on list. Some are alerted the night before the news conference that they will be called on. This leaves the impression that the White House is trying to influence the questions the president will be asked-- which may or may not be true.

 

With the White House pulling all the strings, reporters become their puppets. Those not called upon -- well, they are nothing but props or extras at the big show in the East Room of the White House.

 

The Obama administration, like many of its predecessors, also has adopted the so-called "town meeting" format to give the president a forum that allows him to market the party line without appearing to do so. Access is limited and questioners are carefully selected so that viewers and readers get the purest form of the president’s message, whatever the topic may be.

 

Spin and propaganda do eventually become transparent, but sometimes the deception can lead to unjustified war -- as we have seen in the recent past. It’s as if the message managers become deceived by their own spin.

 

It’s a shame that the Obama administration has discarded his high-sounding rhetoric about transparency and openness. So far, it looks like change we can’t believe in.

What a joke. And my Democrat friends gave me crap for not voting (more specifically, not voting for Obama) in the past election. :ohbrother:

 

Looks like I'll be sitting out the next one as well. :irked:

Helen Thomas used to ask GWB tough questions and seemed like a classic liberal media member. It appears Ms. Thomas, unlike most of the MSM/SRM, has been around long enough to remember that the role of the media is to challenge the party in power, no matter which party it is.

 

She has now has much more respect from myself. The majority of the of the MSM/SRM are simply Obama lap dogs.

 

That's an interesting thought. I never thought the role of the media was to challenge any one; rather it was to garner and distribute the facts to the public and let the public decide what they felt about the party in power.

That's an interesting thought. I never thought the role of the media was to challenge any one; rather it was to garner and distribute the facts to the public and let the public decide what they felt about the party in power.

 

From the Helen Thomas editorial linked above.

 

All of this is particularly unfortunate at a time when the nation needs a free and unfettered news media to scrutinize the new administration and its new policies.

 

The military keeps us safe but the press -- which informs the American people -- keeps us free.

 

The importance of a free press is best illustrated by its prominence on the to-do list of would-be dictators. The first move by coup supporters is to seize the news media, take over the local broadcast stations and censor the newspapers.

 

It seems the media have taken the position that they are no longer a news division to report what is going on but rather an opinion maker.

What a joke. And my Democrat friends gave me crap for not voting (more specifically, not voting for Obama) in the past election. :ohbrother:

 

Looks like I'll be sitting out the next one as well. :irked:

Vote Libertarian!

From the Helen Thomas editorial linked above.

 

All of this is particularly unfortunate at a time when the nation needs a free and unfettered news media to scrutinize the new administration and its new policies.

 

The military keeps us safe but the press -- which informs the American people -- keeps us free.

 

The importance of a free press is best illustrated by its prominence on the to-do list of would-be dictators. The first move by coup supporters is to seize the news media, take over the local broadcast stations and censor the newspapers.

 

It seems the media have taken the position that they are no longer a news division to report what is going on but rather an opinion maker.

 

Was there a time in the media when it wasn't an opinion maker?

 

1970's beat the drum vs. corruption in government

1960's beat the drum vs. the Vietnam War and Civil Rights

1950's beat the drum vs. McCarthy, and for Civil Rights

1940's beat the drum for the buildup of the War once we were in it.

 

 

What about the press and their role in building up for WW I (Lusitania) and/or the Spanish-American War.

 

Didn't Northern and Southern Newspapers approach the news from their slants?

That's an interesting thought. I never thought the role of the media was to challenge any one; rather it was to garner and distribute the facts to the public and let the public decide what they felt about the party in power.

 

Maybe 'challenge' is overstated - it has a tone of wanting to overthrow those in power though that should not the presses goal. But certainly to scrutinize and validate any statements or actions of all elected, in power, officials regardless of which party they are from.

 

It appears that the ex-college professor does not like to be challenged and wants to control the entire message.

Helen Thomas spoke at the 2005 spring graduation at NKU - Of course she had to make a political statement at the very end. It was very interesting because we were close to the professors on the ground floor close to the stage, and the upstairs balconies was letting it fly. I personally don't care for her.