Toward An ‘Equally Vicious’ Press Corps
By K. Daniel Glover | July 10, 2009
Sam Donaldson was "the embodiment of liberal media bias" to many conservatives during his White House stint with ABC News, but every conservative should agree with Donaldson's view that the press needs to be "equally vicious" to all presidents.
He made that point in an interview with Politico. "[T]he only way to save yourself as a reporter, when you're a political reporter questioning various presidents, like Helen Thomas does, is to be equally vicious to all of them," Donaldson said.
Donaldson didn't always practice what he is preaching now, and while Helen Thomas has been feisty with President Obama lately, she certainly isn't a role model for equally vicious reporting. But Donaldson is preaching journalistic truth.
Good reporters -- like ABC's current White House reporter, Jake Tapper -- ask tough questions of all politicians. They don't go soft -- like Dan Froomkin did at The Washington Post -- when a president more to their liking replaces one they mistrust.
In another honest assessment of media liberalism, Donaldson also acknowledged that journalists struggle to keep their own views out of their coverage.
"We all say, 'No, we don't let our personal opinions interfere with objective coverage, particularly of a president,' he said. "But on the margins, I think maybe it does."
Two perfect examples from Donaldson himself in the Politico interview: 1) "I think there's great promise in this presidency"; and 2) "Here's a man who, like some other presidents, came into Washington walking on water, in a figurative sense."
Here are other noteworthy nuggets from the interview:
- "In the press room today, there might be some restraint [toward Obama] left: Who wants to be the first reporter to savage the first African-American president?"
- "To tell a reporter in advance, 'We'll call on you,' I think that's just not the way to conduct something like this. ... This orchestration of the press, I think it's dangerous."
- "Against George Bush, this guy is an open book. But against his own standard that he preached as a candidate, they pulled back, quite clearly."
K. Daniel Glover is a project manager for Accuracy In Media. He has worked as an editor, writer and new media specialist in the Washington area since 1991, spending most of that time at National Journal and Congressional Quarterly.
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Danaldson said in the interview:
“Against George Bush, this guy is an open book. But against his own standard that he preached as a candidate, they pulled back, quite clearly.”
Donaldson probably believes this because of his personal hatred of Bush and so much coverage Obama is getting from the Press, but:
Everything comming out of Obama’s White House is pure lies or propaganda…how can that be an open book?
There is not a Journalist left in America. It seems so-called Journalists are either licking Obama’s feet or are sincerely afraid of him.
If one takes the time to follow Obama’s intentional destruction of our US Constitution, could one really blaim the so-called Journalists that are truely afraid of Obama. If Obama can deliberately disregard our US Constitution, what else is he capable of?
Obama has already destroyed several people from Company Executives to Tarp and Stimulus watchdogs/auditors.
When it comes to Obama, America needs to watch out; but, so called Journalists, whether intimadated or just sycophants, are not getting the job done.
Journalists journalize Junk Jabber. Josh us no more Junk Joksters.
July 10 at 6:13 pm | #1 | Link
Donaldson’s a hack just like Chris Matthews and all the other elites who sell out the American citizens. If Donaldson was still at abc he would be acting the same way Charlie Gibson acts. All of them are very pro marxism, anti traditional American values. This is the way its been for decades but in the last nine years has gotten to its lowest point.