Hume’s challenge to media: Do you really want the Gibbs Seal of Approval?
posted at 8:05 am on October 21, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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We already know where Jake Tapper stands on this point, but the real question is why more journalists in the White House aren’t making their position clear. Brit Hume wondered whether American journalists from other news organizations really will become the lackeys of the Obama administration by ignoring news stories originating at Fox, just because Robert Gibbs disapproves of Fox (via Instapundit):
“How do you like being patted on the head by the White House?” Except for Tapper, the entire White House press corps seems to like it just fine. While Helen Thomas has expressed her disgust with Gibbs for conducting this vendetta, to her credit, so far only Tapper has openly challenged it during the briefings. Every other news organization has stood silently by, apparently hoping for the Robert Gibbs Seal of Journalistic Approval.
Toby Harnden of the London Telegraph channels Pastor Niemoller in his blog today:
Those journalists sitting this one out need to ask themselves what they will do when the White House comes after them or their news organisation.
Because if Fox is allowed to be placed out of respectable bounds in this way then when the going gets tougher – as it will – the White House will simply move on to another target.
Who will be the next target? Probably the man who challenged Gibbs.
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No, the guy he has sitting by the red phone waiting on the White House to call was wearing the pajamas.
As I’ve said continually since September ‘08, I :*:heart:*: me some Tapper.
You will also note that Jake’s exchange did NOT make it into Charlie Gibson’s broadcast last night.
tree hugging sister on October 21, 2009 at 9:17 AM
Brit is such a serious news guy that when he actually finds something funny and can’t help but laugh – it just cracks me up. I can’t help but laugh out loud when he describes the guy in a Mao suit sitting by the phone on Beck’s show. JOCULARITY, JOCULARITY!
Now, back to our regular scheduled programming…….
JeffinOrlando on October 21, 2009 at 9:19 AM
If The White House is going to call war on FOX, then it must realize that in any conflict, there is the chance that either side may win.
How will the White House deal with a FOX victory?
I suppose that the White House is choosing it’s battles in relation to it’s capability, whereas the not-so-scary kid picks on the string-bean bookworm to prove himself. The White House obviously is out of it’s league in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, China, Russia. So FOX is gonna get it when school gets out.
caygeon on October 21, 2009 at 9:21 AM
I’m surprised Tapper still has a job or else he’s angling for a post at Fox. His boss must be pulling his hair out because you know he’s gotten the message by now. The WH will come after the rest when the time comes. Right now they are waiting for the media to stick their hands out for some stim money.
Kissmygrits on October 21, 2009 at 9:22 AM
All image .. all the time.
His fall from heaven is going to be ugly.
J_Crater on October 21, 2009 at 9:27 AM
The WSJ is next. You wait. Can’t have the #1 paper now in circulation being all critical, pro-business and right-leaning and not target them and their editorials. They will whine about those editorials as if they are “the news.”
JAM on October 21, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Beck-Obama Beer Summit?
Trusser13 on October 21, 2009 at 9:32 AM
We watch as the MSM just ignores the alligators because they are just on their way back to the zoo from vacation travel.
CommentGuy on October 21, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Several years ago, when I taught high school, I did an exercise with my honors history students, and presented them with a list of about 50 items, and asked them to differentiate “fact” or “opinion.”
The failure rate was huge. High school seniors could not distinguish between fact or opinion. [Thank you, NEA.]
Thus, it is logical to assume that our vaunted media cannot, either, make that distinction, between fact and opinion, and neither can the present White House.
We have the White House going after FoxNews because O’Reilly is “skewing” his news reporting. BOR is not a news presenter. He is an opinion commentator…he deals in opinion. As does the editorial pages of the WSJ. But, when the LA Times, for example, runs an opinion piece on the front page, above the fold, and presents it as news [the entire iraq War, for example] nobody on the Left so much as mumbles about the conflation of fact and opinion.
Common sense, becoming a terribly uncommon virtue these days.
coldwarrior on October 21, 2009 at 9:34 AM
I hope they do. Not only is it also owned by Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.), it is the crown jewel of his empire.
And, in a fight between Obama (Soros) and Murdoch, I’d bet the ranch on the Rupert.
TXUS on October 21, 2009 at 9:38 AM
This is just one of many Obama Waterloos. By the time he’s voted out of office no one will be able to count them. The administration is acting stupidly, and good for Brit to challenge these other “journalists” because they’re acting stupidly as well. Kudos for Tapper who will go down in history as the only one with the courage to ask the tough question. It’s pitiful there aren’t others raising their hand. Oh yea, and right on HELEN!
scalleywag on October 21, 2009 at 9:40 AM
What interesting stories in the latest news cycles have been broken by the “other news organizations” rather than either Breitbart or Fox (the only news organization to pick up on Breitbart content)? Which interesting stories have been totally ignored right up until an Administration official resigns?
These guys sit in their little auditorium and report only what Obama’s crews feed them — Helen Thomas included.
unclesmrgol on October 21, 2009 at 9:48 AM
coldwarrior
TXUS
At least if they do come for the WSJ, the other outlets will finally realize that it is indeed “on”. In the next 18 months or so, I look for Gibbs to starting whining about the WSJ coverage. If they have any success at all in marginalizing Fox, which means they break something big again, and no one covers it, they most certainly will go after the next one. Fox is the canary in the coal mine. I just hope the other news outlets don’t play along.
JAM on October 21, 2009 at 9:50 AM
The rotting carcass of NBC has to be acquired. Let Soros find out about it go broke keeping it afloat. Ohterwise, NBC needs to be made foxy.
IlikedAUH2O on October 21, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Gibbs should be made president of the International Clown Union
bluegrass on October 21, 2009 at 9:56 AM
“Lackeys or independent?”
Cheerleaders.
(Like many bloggers, news “reporters” are now much less interested in reporting news than influencing it. (In their arrogance, they see their viewers as easily manipulable, if only the “right” side of the story can be conveyed. But this presupposes a possession of “truth” by the media and an ignorance by the viewers. It is a complete paradigm shift from the 1980s, where information not viewpoint was considered to be power, and we have yet to see the cost of this to our society.)
dtestard on October 21, 2009 at 9:58 AM
Only the drunkest Hope and Change Kool-aid drinkers would fail to find this move by the White House Gang cause for great alarm and suspicion.
The sad thing is that tens of millions of Americans find this attempt to stifle freedom perfectly acceptable. So many stinkin’ enemies!
Gang-of-One on October 21, 2009 at 9:58 AM
One of my favorite Brit moments comes from the aftermath of the 2000 Florida recount when they were holding the news conference after the final SCOTUS ruling. It was past the time it was supposed to start and every single network had the same shot of the empty stage. Brit deadpanned that we (the audience) were looking at a podium that we’ve come to know well over the past few weeks.
highhopes on October 21, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Fire Shep Smith and give Tapper the job.
Lou Budvis on October 21, 2009 at 10:00 AM
I love Brit, the best thing he ever did was leave ABC for Fox.
beachgirlusa on October 21, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Jake is rapidly becoming my hero. I just hope he is having interviews with Fox because he won’t last long with ABC with these type questions.
One of the first objectives in Communist or Marxist policy is taking complete control of the media. Since Fox is the last bastion of “Fair and Balanced” News coverage they are going to be beaten into submission by the Obama Administration one way or the other.
That is the plan. Except that I think that the Owners of Fox are not going to go quietly into the night of Obama worship without massive resistance.
Let us do our part. Talk up Fox and tell all your liberal friends that they just don’t have the guts to watch Fox. Those that take up the challenge will be few but lets see if we can make a few get out of their liberal bubble for just a few minutes a day.
Large problems often are solved with small solutions.
Papa Ray
Central Texas
The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed – where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.
2009 Judge Alex Kozinski
Papa Ray on October 21, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Brit Hume is a class act. When he had his news hour he never injected his personal opinion. However when he appeared on Chris Wallace’s Sunday news show he was able to express his opinion which reflected his conservatve roots.
Big Nicholas on October 21, 2009 at 10:07 AM
If there was ever any doubt of big media being in the tank, now with their silence, that doubt should forever be removed.
d1carter on October 21, 2009 at 10:10 AM
It was best for Fox as well, showing again the genius of Murdoch and Roger Ailes. Look up “gravitas” in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of Brit Hume.
TXUS on October 21, 2009 at 10:14 AM
I am just astounded at how many people are so blind and willing to ignore this crap. It’s SCARY. This behavior is so out of step with freedom of the press and yet most of the press is standing by goin “YEAH! GREAT JOB!” or, not sure which is worse, they’re saying NOTHING.
Thank GOD for the net and places like this. Otherwise we’d all be unable to find any truthful news anywhere. I maintain that without the Internet there would be no support for FoxNews because ordinary people would have no way to find out these scumbags are lying.
Thank you God for giving us a fighting chance.
Mad Mad Monica on October 21, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Yea, that’s why it was so great to see one lonely hand (Tapper) objecting to this BS on the part of the administration. They’ve made an historic mistake here, they just don’t know it yet.
scalleywag on October 21, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Yeah. And when I try & teach my HS students critical thinking skills in science, they still fail miserably until the end of the year when I’m done with them.
Then I get crap for it from the admin bcs I’m not focusing enough on test scores.
When they know the material in a multiple choice format, that’s OK.
But when they can’t apply it to the real world through Critical thinking skills, then they really don’t knowit-but instead, I get crap for it bcs I make it “too hard”.
I am disgusted with the IQ of our country.
Badger40 on October 21, 2009 at 10:21 AM
This pic?
(Sorry but he does have puppy dog eyes)
beachgirlusa on October 21, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Amen to that.
beachgirlusa on October 21, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Ice cream summit.
spmat on October 21, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Look, most of the media is liberal, but does not recognize it instead thinking they are truely objective. In their minds they already agree that FOX is slanted, untrue, and entertainment. This, in their minds, makes FOX worse than the National Enquirer because FOX spreads destructive ‘lies’. They already agree that FOX should be shut down. Beltway Bob is only expressing something they have alredy agreed to in their hearts.
Therefore, it would not even occur to them to object on principle or that the whitehouse ire might ever be turned their way. It is okay for them to first come after FOX because FOX is ‘dirty jews’ and not normal people after all. Don’t expect any of them to stand up for those they consider subhuman or to take their blinders off. They don’t even know they have blinders on. They are part of the aperatus and would gladly renounce one of their own if said person’s eyes were ever opened. Even then they would do so beleiving they were right and taking no warning from it.
AnotherOpinion on October 21, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Brit Hume came to Fox from ABC, but I don’t see Tapper following suit. Jake appears to be a skeptic and contrarian, which are more useful journalistic credentials than whatever his MSM colleagues possess.
Tapper is not the only ABC heretic on the left. George Stephanopoulos has asked Obama representatives some penetrating questions. I hope ABC News will support Tapper when the hammer comes down.
Terrie on October 21, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Brit Hume is a national treasure–good humored, smart, witty, not full of himself–unlike almost all of the pseudo elitists passing themselves off as journalists.
horatio on October 21, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Oh, they are working on it! Net Neutrality is on the way! The Gumbint is right as we type, looking into how they can control what we access. It’s coming. And on its heels will be revolution!
JAM on October 21, 2009 at 10:59 AM
It takes a vast Left wing conspiracy to do this, and what better way is their to cloak your own deceit? This is the change the looters hopenchanged for.
Mark30339 on October 21, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Holy cow, hadn’t considered this.
There’s now two tactical purposes to the Fox News demonization and they dovetail.
One is to “firewall” stories so they don’t cross from Fox to other news sources. To Allah’s point about “why do they bother, the media was doing a good job of that anyway?” I’d say yes, but look at them lately — they had just begun to change that policy, after their embarrassment over not covering the Van Jones and ACORN stories sooner. So in a sense one part of this is a rear-guard action to halt and reverse that trend.
The other is to link (with plausible deniabiility) the prospect of a media company bailout with toeing the line, just like you suggested. The message being sent is, if you pick up any stories from Fox News, don’t bother applying for a bailout.
You might think it would be risky for the administration to actually enforce such threats as that would itself be a news story, but if everyone is cowed into not reporting stories that originate on Fox… then maybe not!
Scary.
RD on October 21, 2009 at 11:00 AM
theirthereMark30339 on October 21, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I believe when Brit Hume stepped out of the news chair, he was wanting to be able to do just what he is now doing, taking on the administration. I always loved him on the Sunday panel when he was able to give his opinion, particularly his disagreements with Juan. Brett Baier is terrific in his place, and frees Brit to do reporting. I just think he may not have intended to do so much, but with all the crap the administration throws out on a daily basis, I believe he relishes taking them on.
silvernana on October 21, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Excellent point!
That would make an excellent cartoon.
Actually there are a few dead canaries that are being completely ignored! Banks, Insurance, Cars, the voting process… dead birds at the bottom of the cage and everyone is fine with it. They don’t even bury the birds.
petunia on October 21, 2009 at 11:09 AM
I wouldn’t count on Stephanopoulos to do much heavy lifting. If he has any beef with Obama it is because he is the consummate Clinton loyalist. Remember he hung on even after being directly lied to by Clinton about Monica. It takes some kind of true belief to repeat other people’s
lies when you know they are flat out lies.
petunia on October 21, 2009 at 11:15 AM
They don\’t say anything because they all want Fox to tank. The rest of them can only get 5 people to watch their own networks.
teffertoes on October 21, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Other than Fox, the legacy media is politically wedded to Obama and the Democrats. It would take real courage for one of these prevaricators to step into the limelight and express an opinion similar to that of Jake Tapper.
.
What is really obvious is that the Niemoller verses about the victims of unopposed power really apply to the Obama administration and why the geniuses in the Mostly Stupid Media can’t see it just illuminates their inability to analyze an obvious problem. Complex problems like AGW and economic recovery are way beyond them so any analysis about these difficulties from the Lapdog Scared Media is suspect at the very beginning.
.
I truly expect, in the near future, that the now-shackled media outlets who parrot the administration lies will willingly apologize to the American people for their failure of conscience and professional behavior. They are not showing evidence of either, except for Fox News.
ExpressoBold on October 21, 2009 at 11:42 AM
They’re not dead, they are just “pining for the fjiords”.
Lily on October 21, 2009 at 11:59 AM
“the real question is why more journalists in the White House aren’t making their position clear”
It’s really no question at all. The liberal media and liberal administrations are best friends, and FOX News is the common enemy. The liberal media has been the lackey of liberal administrations for decades, and never more so than today, so why should rank and file liberal media outlets protest when a Dem administration bags on FOX News?
Rather than protest, the shrewd response of liberal media would be to circle the wagons around the administration, and affirm rather than question this latest wave of FOX bashing.
clark smith on October 21, 2009 at 12:24 PM
All the White House has done is confirm they don’t know how to Govern.
Dr Evil on October 21, 2009 at 12:34 PM
I mentioned this in another thread here yesterday. My guess was the the only reason Tapper got this plum ABC job is that he has all the dirt on why Disney/ABC aren’t releasing it. The WH assignment is his reward for keeping his mouth shut.
Del Dolemonte on October 21, 2009 at 12:56 PM
“A lie isn’t a lie if you believe it.” – George Costanza.
BTW this has been a troll-free thread so far. Must be the day all the Kos Kiddies get a field trip to the zoo?
Del Dolemonte on October 21, 2009 at 1:00 PM
This White House full of amateurs is in way over it’s head.
GarandFan on October 21, 2009 at 1:00 PM
I love this guy.
29Victor on October 21, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Excellent observation.
cjs1943 on October 21, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Hey Ed,
What happened to the obamateurism of the day? Surely you haven’t run out!
Christian Conservative on October 21, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Soon we’ll have reporters with stickies on their forehead “Obama approved” and “Obama shunned”. Nice!
Schadenfreude on October 21, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Anyone else notice the deafening silence of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein…?
Seven Percent Solution on October 21, 2009 at 2:35 PM
Already falling. He will “spin in” IMHO. He and his lickspittles lost control of the message when they created one cluster fark after another.
They are a clown posse and now everyone can see it.
dogsoldier on October 21, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Eventually, unless Fox figures out how to get smart people to offer alternative positions, this tactic might work.
AnninCA on October 21, 2009 at 2:44 PM
I think this just shows how deep the shunning goes. Not only will they shun FOX but even threads that are about FOX.
Intstead of holding crosses up in front of themselves like one would to ward off a vampire, they make a little circle with their thumb and forefinger, if they see FOX in the circle, they SHUN.
Lily on October 21, 2009 at 2:53 PM
*rolling eyes*
I’m done with all these stories about what someone said at some academic gathering.
I saw an article about how McCain quoted Mao, too. LOL*
Good grief. Great people are often quoted, regardless of their politics.
AnninCA on October 19, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Oh please ann, no one who thinks mao was a great person should have an opinion beyond “does this dress make my butt look fat?”
runawayyyy on October 21, 2009 at 3:07 PM
Still say, we are missing the point. They don’t care about the polls or elections. If they continue to get their legislation and policies in place those will be “meaningless”. This will be a dictatorship by then.
hillbilly on October 21, 2009 at 4:17 PM
They’re out of their league against Fox. Especially Hume.
tgharris on October 21, 2009 at 9:50 PM
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