Wednesday, January 28, 2009

More About the Obama Administration’s Attempt to Bypass/Control the Media






The above photos were among those distributed in last week’s publicity release by the White House, which broke tradition by not allowing access to the media on Obama’s first day in office.


Today’s topic relates to my earlier post describing the new administration’s plans to use the Internet to bypass the media in mobilizing public support for President Obama’s programs.

The media, however, has ways of pushing back. A few days ago, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence-France-Presse refused to distribute White House provided photos of Obama’s first day in the Oval Office. The agencies were protesting the Administration’s break with long-time tradition in its refusal to allow news photographers access on that important occasion.

Those impressive photos of Obama’s first day in the Oval Office, prominently displayed by the Huffington Post, were actually “visual publicity releases.” (In today’s search I could find only the two shown above.)

Ari Melber picks up the story today in Obama, the Press and Us: Transparency is Not Enough:

It is great, of course, for the White House to release photos or documents or any other material. Obama's openness is a welcome change from his predecessor, who went all the way to the Supreme Court to hide the RSVP list for a single policy meeting. And transparency is intrinsically good, since in a democracy, very little government activity is legitimately secret.

Transparency reform and government information, however, are no substitutes for journalistic access and original reporting. “In fact, the administration's new openness might even function as little more than another unfiltered route to disseminate its view. If the information is offered to supplant independent reporting -- as in the photo disputes -- and only flows in one direction, then the government simply amplifies its already sizable megaphone. A louder government with less journalism does not enrich our democratic process.

It is odd, though, to now hear the media complaining about the way the Obama Administration is treating it. Not much of a reward for swooning at the One’s feet since he first announced his candidacy for the presidential office.

7 comments:

  1. Obama is a great president. His presence is impacting grants like no other president prior. Grant funding for minorities and middle class have increased nearly 10,000% in the past week. Read more about it at my blog http://search-grants.blogspot.com
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    Largest Grant Amounts in History!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Let me get this straight... funding for birth control has been stripped, after NARAL and NOW kissed the feet of "The One."

    Media access has been denied, after the MSM kissed the a** of "The One."

    Is anyone else starting to get the feeling that worshipping this man is not the way to get something back from him?

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  3. Grants are paid for by the taxpayer and that would be me and you. Because President Obama has a policy of laying money in the hands of those who extend the open palms doesn't necessarily translate into his being a good president or even a great president. Let us wait and see after a year how we feel about things. These things take time, and although the previous administration put a halt to some grant monies, this "open the foodgates" mentality regarding public largesse begs further scrutiny.
    I have a suspicion Virginia that your wonderful corner of the world has made it's way onto the political freeway! Congratulations, I think...
    BTW, those photos look extraordinarily staged. Ewwww.

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  4. Oh and, mberinis....

    "Great" is a term reserved for people who actually accomplish something. As did Lincoln, or Roosevelt.

    Bumbling neophytes do not fall in the category of "great." Not in my book, anyways.

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  5. Hi Becky and SYD,

    Thanks for adding to the conversation!!

    I'm concerned about stripping the funds for birth control from the stimulus package in order to satisfy the Republicans.

    It's going to be hard for families when the breadwinner(s) is unemployed, and they can't afford contraceptives - the next thing they know they're expecting a new baby when they're already struggling to provide food for the children they have.

    A pretty bleak situation.

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  6. Hey.
    Before I proceed. I wanna say that I'm still seventeen, Malaysian, knowing not much about politics.
    I wrote about Obama based on my view in one of the web. It just simple. Maybe I'll try make it more longer what do I think about Obama. And, I admit, I do know a little about Obama. I hope you can give me your opinion about Obama.
    And, my post about politics on 29 January is only my first try. And I'm not ready to discuss it more like mature adult. Hehe. No offence.

    Hope you can visit my blog.
    http://heytherelyana.blogspot.com

    And be my teacher? In whatever..english, politics, or smthing new that we could learn.
    Post me comments.
    thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Lyana,

    Thank you for stopping by. I checked out your blog, and I think you have some good insights regarding politics and our new president. I encourage you to seek out different points of view to deepen your knowledge of the world and help you develop a more objective perspective - something we should all do!

    Stop by again when you can.

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete