by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal—or merely unafraid to
be called liberal—the saga of Mr. Guckert’s short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.

The intrinsic media interest of the Guckert/Gannon story should be
obvious to anyone who has followed his tale, which touches on hot topics
from the homosexual underground and the investigation into the outing of
C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame to the political power of the Internet. But
our supposedly liberal media becomes quite squeamish when reporting
anything that might humiliate the Bush White House and the Republican Party.

Until very recently, Mr. Guckert served as the White House correspondent
for Talon News, a Web site owned and operated by a group of Texas
Republican activists who also run a highly partisan site called
GOPUSA.com. Mr. Guckert resigned from his Talon job after liberal
bloggers exposed his ties to Web sites promoting homosexual
prostitution. On Valentine’s Day, AmericaBlog.org posted new evidence
indicating that Mr. Guckert not only constructed those gay-play-for-pay
sites, but worked as a male escort himself—and continued to do so until
he got his first White House press pass in 2003.

Using his "Jeff Gannon" alias, Mr. Guckert soon became a familiar face
in the briefing room, where White House press secretary Scott McClellan
would call on him as "Jeff." No doubt Mr. McClellan welcomed his
mushy-soft, Democrat-baiting questions.

George W. Bush called on him during his most recent press conference—a
signal honor for a reporter from an obscure Internet publication, and
quite a surprise to the dozens of actual reporters bypassed by Mr. Bush
on Jan. 26.

Mr. Guckert’s archived writings suddenly disappeared from the Talon News
Web site, but several of his greatest works have been preserved by the
watchdogs at MediaMatters.org. They show that he had no journalistic
purpose, let alone experience. His copy featured long passages lifted
directly from White House press releases. Last year, during the Internet
frenzy over Senator John Kerry’s "intern girlfriend," he falsely wrote
that the young woman had "taped an interview with one of the major
television networks at Christmas substantiating the alleged affair."

He also made a curious cameo appearance in the Valerie Plame
controversy. In late 2003, Mr. Guckert called former Ambassador Joseph
Wilson. During that interview, the Talon correspondent mentioned a
C.I.A. document that supposedly showed Ms. Plame had dispatched Mr.
Wilson, her husband, on a government mission to Niger to investigate
rumored Iraqi uranium purchases. That allegation was meant to discredit
the former ambassador, who had exposed White House intelligence abuses.
Administration leaks to the press about Ms. Plame’s C.I.A. work are
currently under investigation by a special prosecutor.

What Mr. Guckert seems to have been is not a journalist but a Republican
dirty trickster. He was schooled at the Leadership Institute—an outfit
run by veteran right-wing operative and Republican National Committee
member Morton Blackwell. (It was Mr. Blackwell who distributed those
cute "purple heart" Band-aids mocking Mr. Kerry’s war wounds at the
Republican convention last summer.) His former employers at Talon News
include leading Republican fund-raisers and former officials of the
Texas Republican Party who have been active in partisan affairs for the
past two decades.

How did this character obtain a coveted place in the White House? What
did the White House press staff know about him? How does his story fit
within the larger scandal of payola punditry, with federal funds
subsidizing Republican propagandists in the press corps? Did someone in
the Bush administration give him a classified document?

Such questions are evidently of little concern to our liberal media
outlets, whose leading lights prefer to deliver prim lectures about the
unwarranted invasion of Mr. Guckert’s private affairs and his
victimization for his conservative views. In fact, everything known
about him comes from material he posted on public Web sites, but that’s
beside the point.

Imagine the media explosion if a male escort had been discovered
operating as a correspondent in the Clinton White House. Imagine that he
was paid by an outfit owned by Arkansas Democrats and had been trained
in journalism by James Carville. Imagine that this gentleman had been
cultivated and called upon by Mike McCurry or Joe Lockhart—or by
President Clinton himself. Imagine that this "journalist" had smeared a
Republican Presidential candidate and had previously claimed access to
classified documents in a national-security scandal.

Then imagine the constant screaming on radio, on television, on Capitol
Hill, in the Washington press corps—and listen to the placid mumbling of
the "liberal" media now.

Jim,

I'm sure it's completely normal for the FBI and/or Secret Service to do a
thorough background check on a person applying for the coveted White House
press pass who will be about 10' from the president of the US, and that they
fail to notice that he is using an alias, and has not previously worked as a
journalist, and the news agency he is working for came into existence about
4 days before he applied. I believe mistakes happen, and the (real) media
should just let this fade away. ...NOT!

"Jim," wrote in message
...
by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal—or merely unafraid to
be called liberal—the saga of Mr. Guckert’s short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.

The intrinsic media interest of the Guckert/Gannon story should be
obvious to anyone who has followed his tale, which touches on hot topics
from the homosexual underground and the investigation into the outing of
C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame to the political power of the Internet. But
our supposedly liberal media becomes quite squeamish when reporting
anything that might humiliate the Bush White House and the Republican
Party.

Until very recently, Mr. Guckert served as the White House correspondent
for Talon News, a Web site owned and operated by a group of Texas
Republican activists who also run a highly partisan site called
GOPUSA.com. Mr. Guckert resigned from his Talon job after liberal
bloggers exposed his ties to Web sites promoting homosexual
prostitution. On Valentine’s Day, AmericaBlog.org posted new evidence
indicating that Mr. Guckert not only constructed those gay-play-for-pay
sites, but worked as a male escort himself—and continued to do so until
he got his first White House press pass in 2003.

Using his "Jeff Gannon" alias, Mr. Guckert soon became a familiar face
in the briefing room, where White House press secretary Scott McClellan
would call on him as "Jeff." No doubt Mr. McClellan welcomed his
mushy-soft, Democrat-baiting questions.

George W. Bush called on him during his most recent press conference—a
signal honor for a reporter from an obscure Internet publication, and
quite a surprise to the dozens of actual reporters bypassed by Mr. Bush
on Jan. 26.

Mr. Guckert’s archived writings suddenly disappeared from the Talon News
Web site, but several of his greatest works have been preserved by the
watchdogs at MediaMatters.org. They show that he had no journalistic
purpose, let alone experience. His copy featured long passages lifted
directly from White House press releases. Last year, during the Internet
frenzy over Senator John Kerry’s "intern girlfriend," he falsely wrote
that the young woman had "taped an interview with one of the major
television networks at Christmas substantiating the alleged affair."

He also made a curious cameo appearance in the Valerie Plame
controversy. In late 2003, Mr. Guckert called former Ambassador Joseph
Wilson. During that interview, the Talon correspondent mentioned a
C.I.A. document that supposedly showed Ms. Plame had dispatched Mr.
Wilson, her husband, on a government mission to Niger to investigate
rumored Iraqi uranium purchases. That allegation was meant to discredit
the former ambassador, who had exposed White House intelligence abuses.
Administration leaks to the press about Ms. Plame’s C.I.A. work are
currently under investigation by a special prosecutor.

What Mr. Guckert seems to have been is not a journalist but a Republican
dirty trickster. He was schooled at the Leadership Institute—an outfit
run by veteran right-wing operative and Republican National Committee
member Morton Blackwell. (It was Mr. Blackwell who distributed those
cute "purple heart" Band-aids mocking Mr. Kerry’s war wounds at the
Republican convention last summer.) His former employers at Talon News
include leading Republican fund-raisers and former officials of the
Texas Republican Party who have been active in partisan affairs for the
past two decades.

How did this character obtain a coveted place in the White House? What
did the White House press staff know about him? How does his story fit
within the larger scandal of payola punditry, with federal funds
subsidizing Republican propagandists in the press corps? Did someone in
the Bush administration give him a classified document?

Such questions are evidently of little concern to our liberal media
outlets, whose leading lights prefer to deliver prim lectures about the
unwarranted invasion of Mr. Guckert’s private affairs and his
victimization for his conservative views. In fact, everything known
about him comes from material he posted on public Web sites, but that’s
beside the point.

Imagine the media explosion if a male escort had been discovered
operating as a correspondent in the Clinton White House. Imagine that he
was paid by an outfit owned by Arkansas Democrats and had been trained
in journalism by James Carville. Imagine that this gentleman had been
cultivated and called upon by Mike McCurry or Joe Lockhart—or by
President Clinton himself. Imagine that this "journalist" had smeared a
Republican Presidential candidate and had previously claimed access to
classified documents in a national-security scandal.

Then imagine the constant screaming on radio, on television, on Capitol
Hill, in the Washington press corps—and listen to the placid mumbling of
the "liberal" media now.

"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 01:27:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal-or merely unafraid to
be called liberal-the saga of Mr. Guckert's short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.


Yup, like Helen Thomas is a "journalist" . LOL

....or Brit Hume or Bill O'Reilly

Snafu wrote:
"WaIIy" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 01:27:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:


by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal-or merely unafraid to
be called liberal-the saga of Mr. Guckert's short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.


Yup, like Helen Thomas is a "journalist" . LOL


...or Brit Hume or Bill O'Reilly



At least Helen Thomas has paid her dues. I think she questioned Truman.

WaIIy wrote:
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 05:39:45 GMT, "Jim," wrote:


At least Helen Thomas has paid her dues. I think she questioned Truman.


"Paying your dues" is a requisite for reporter's credentials? Who gets
to decide this, you?

BTW, Helen Thomas is a columnist, the dems keep her around to shut her
up.


Holding a job for 50+ years is to me "paying your dues"

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 01:27:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal—or merely unafraid to
be called liberal—the saga of Mr. Guckert’s short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.

The intrinsic media interest of the Guckert/Gannon story should be
obvious to anyone who has followed his tale, which touches on hot topics
from the homosexual underground and the investigation into the outing of
C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame to the political power of the Internet. But
our supposedly liberal media becomes quite squeamish when reporting
anything that might humiliate the Bush White House and the Republican Party.

Until very recently, Mr. Guckert served as the White House correspondent
for Talon News, a Web site owned and operated by a group of Texas
Republican activists who also run a highly partisan site called
GOPUSA.com. Mr. Guckert resigned from his Talon job after liberal
bloggers exposed his ties to Web sites promoting homosexual
prostitution. On Valentine’s Day, AmericaBlog.org posted new evidence
indicating that Mr. Guckert not only constructed those gay-play-for-pay
sites, but worked as a male escort himself—and continued to do so until
he got his first White House press pass in 2003.

Using his "Jeff Gannon" alias, Mr. Guckert soon became a familiar face
in the briefing room, where White House press secretary Scott McClellan
would call on him as "Jeff." No doubt Mr. McClellan welcomed his
mushy-soft, Democrat-baiting questions.

George W. Bush called on him during his most recent press conference—a
signal honor for a reporter from an obscure Internet publication, and
quite a surprise to the dozens of actual reporters bypassed by Mr. Bush
on Jan. 26.

Mr. Guckert’s archived writings suddenly disappeared from the Talon News
Web site, but several of his greatest works have been preserved by the
watchdogs at MediaMatters.org. They show that he had no journalistic
purpose, let alone experience. His copy featured long passages lifted
directly from White House press releases. Last year, during the Internet
frenzy over Senator John Kerry’s "intern girlfriend," he falsely wrote
that the young woman had "taped an interview with one of the major
television networks at Christmas substantiating the alleged affair."

He also made a curious cameo appearance in the Valerie Plame
controversy. In late 2003, Mr. Guckert called former Ambassador Joseph
Wilson. During that interview, the Talon correspondent mentioned a
C.I.A. document that supposedly showed Ms. Plame had dispatched Mr.
Wilson, her husband, on a government mission to Niger to investigate
rumored Iraqi uranium purchases. That allegation was meant to discredit
the former ambassador, who had exposed White House intelligence abuses.
Administration leaks to the press about Ms. Plame’s C.I.A. work are
currently under investigation by a special prosecutor.

What Mr. Guckert seems to have been is not a journalist but a Republican
dirty trickster. He was schooled at the Leadership Institute—an outfit
run by veteran right-wing operative and Republican National Committee
member Morton Blackwell. (It was Mr. Blackwell who distributed those
cute "purple heart" Band-aids mocking Mr. Kerry’s war wounds at the
Republican convention last summer.) His former employers at Talon News
include leading Republican fund-raisers and former officials of the
Texas Republican Party who have been active in partisan affairs for the
past two decades.

How did this character obtain a coveted place in the White House? What
did the White House press staff know about him? How does his story fit
within the larger scandal of payola punditry, with federal funds
subsidizing Republican propagandists in the press corps? Did someone in
the Bush administration give him a classified document?

Such questions are evidently of little concern to our liberal media
outlets, whose leading lights prefer to deliver prim lectures about the
unwarranted invasion of Mr. Guckert’s private affairs and his
victimization for his conservative views. In fact, everything known
about him comes from material he posted on public Web sites, but that’s
beside the point.

Imagine the media explosion if a male escort had been discovered
operating as a correspondent in the Clinton White House. Imagine that he
was paid by an outfit owned by Arkansas Democrats and had been trained
in journalism by James Carville. Imagine that this gentleman had been
cultivated and called upon by Mike McCurry or Joe Lockhart—or by
President Clinton himself. Imagine that this "journalist" had smeared a
Republican Presidential candidate and had previously claimed access to
classified documents in a national-security scandal.

Then imagine the constant screaming on radio, on television, on Capitol
Hill, in the Washington press corps—and listen to the placid mumbling of
the "liberal" media now.

And, he was the only reporter with a decent question!

Thank you. Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the
U.S. economy. [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup
lines. And [Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy being
on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security
is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've
said you are going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work
with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?

You'll notice that none of these liberal rags will print the question which
caused all the furor. I wonder why?

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 20:07:50 -0800, "Snafu"
wrote:

Jim,

I'm sure it's completely normal for the FBI and/or Secret Service to do a
thorough background check on a person applying for the coveted White House
press pass who will be about 10' from the president of the US, and that they
fail to notice that he is using an alias, and has not previously worked as a
journalist, and the news agency he is working for came into existence about
4 days before he applied. I believe mistakes happen, and the (real) media
should just let this fade away. ...NOT!


Besides, he asked a question that wasn't stupid!

"Thank you. Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the
U.S. economy. [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup
lines. And [Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy being
on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security
is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've
said you are going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work
with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"


John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 20:59:19 -0800, "Snafu"
wrote:


"WaIIy" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 01:27:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal-or merely unafraid to
be called liberal-the saga of Mr. Guckert's short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.


Yup, like Helen Thomas is a "journalist" . LOL

...or Brit Hume or Bill O'Reilly


Both of which tell *both* sides of a story. Of course, that makes them biased
towards the right!

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 05:39:45 GMT, "Jim," wrote:

Snafu wrote:
"WaIIy" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 01:27:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:


by Joe Conason

Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology
has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as
Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal-or merely unafraid to
be called liberal-the saga of Mr. Guckert's short, strange,
quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves.


Yup, like Helen Thomas is a "journalist" . LOL


...or Brit Hume or Bill O'Reilly



At least Helen Thomas has paid her dues. I think she questioned Truman.

She's never asked a question as pertinent as this:

"Thank you. Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the
U.S. economy. [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup
lines. And [Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy being
on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security
is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've
said you are going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work
with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

"John H" wrote in message
...

...or Brit Hume or Bill O'Reilly


Both of which tell *both* sides of a story. Of course, that makes them
biased
towards the right!

John H


You, my friend, have divorced yourself from reality.