Sunday, April 19, 2009

WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPSE

Ana Marie Cox just made a lot of enemies in D.C.:
Name a major political story broken by a White House correspondent. A thorough debunking of the Bush case for Iraqi WMD? McClatchy Newspapers' State Department and national security correspondents. Bush's abuse of signing statements? The Boston Globe's legal affairs correspondent. Even Watergate came off The Washington Post's Metro desk. [...]

It's not that the reporters covering the president are bad at their jobs. Most are experienced journalists at the top of their game -- and they're wasted at the White House, where scoops are doled out, not uncovered. The day of a typical White House correspondent consists, literally, of waiting to be told things. Legitimate security concerns and a tightly scripted political world keep the presidential press corps physically corralled and informationally hostage.
I think Jake Tapper could really use a hug right now.

[crossposted at Rumproast]

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