Gee, let me guess. The old media is pissed off that the most tech-savy administration is embracing the new media, thereby hastening the inevitable demise of their jobs.

Those briefings are by invitation only. Think about that. Every administration invites the reporters they want covering it. And then those same invited reporters have the gall to cry about an administration creating and manipulating the news?

Maybe if journalists would actually start doing their "job" and not asking stupid or irrelevant questions or ignore actual news, this wouldn't be an issue.

I don't have a problem with them being contacted ahead of time to tell them they may be chosen to ask a question, please make it relevant.

Having to see Obama answer a million questions about his stupid puppy is probably part of the reason this is happening. There are a lot of serious issues to discuss and all the press seems to care about is gossip.

Also, bloggers were the only people even covering Iran. None of the traditional media seemed to have anything to say about it other than what they were parroting from Iran's government-run Press TV. It was pathetic.

I think journalists are freaked out as they see themselves less and less relevant, and they don't seem to be as willing to put themselves in risky situations to get a story as reporters and journalists in the past were.

Watching the Press try and get a straight answer from Gibbs is very much like teaching a dog to whistle.

It ain't getting them anywhere,and it annoys the dog...

CanisNoir: terriblist: You really want to get into this with me? Not that I care much about the distinction between print and online journalism, but I've written several cover stories for a few (quite small!) national print magazines, along with countless shorter articles. By this point in my career I know that yes, you can string three independent clauses together using two semicolons.

What's your angle here? Just being a dick for fun?


/Hot like your Grammatical rage ;P

//I happen to agree with your point though.

Haha, I don't debate grammar unless someone else brings it up. (He started it!!!!!)

What kinda of a stupid name is Nico Pitney?

I almost feel sorry for Obama supporters. They were gullible enough to fall for Obama's words of "change, hope, and transparency." At least being duped so thoroughly will give his supporters a very important lesson; maybe they will not be tricked so easily next time around.

Semi-Sane: I almost feel sorry for Obama supporters.



Don't be.

Feel sorry for America.

Semi-Sane: I almost feel sorry for Obama supporters. They were gullible enough to fall for Obama's words of "change, hope, and transparency." At least being duped so thoroughly will give his supporters a very important lesson; maybe they will not be tricked so easily next time around.

I'm glad I voted for him. Imagine all this stuff happening on the watch of someone who would nominate Caribou Barbie.

.

Cat Food Sandwiches: ObamaPresidens can't think on histheir feet and needs planted questions. End of story.

You're denser than Gibbs if you think any of our last dozen presidents didn't plant questions.

Umokay: In my opinion, Gibbs seems like a smarmy ass who deserves to be humiliated whenever opportunities arise. It is the constant giggling and the overwhelming condescension that speaks volumes about this guy and the administration that allows him to continue being its voice.

THIS +100

The questions from the internet should not have been pre-selected for their relevance to health care.

"Where is your birth certificate Barry?" ad nauseam would have been very informative and useful to those watching the "town hall" interested in the health care debate.

With regards to Nico Pitney, Helen and Chip are just whiny whores.

The only problem I have with Gibbs is that he appears less prepared and less able to think on his feet than Perino was. That is one short hurtle that he is unable to jump over.

While pre-selecting questions does against the entire idea of transparency promised by Obama, it isn't like the Old Media have really been raising important issues or questions to begin with. It seems more like a case of sour grapes to me and the fact that the Old Media is going under and they know it.

But he's so well spoken.

Robert Gibbs is a terrible choice for press secretary in Obama's administration. He just doesn't jive at all with the rest of brand. Obama's whole image is about being thoughtful, intelligent, and understanding, and then you have the press secretary - a complete 180 degrees from Obama, clowning around looking like an idiot and being a smart ass when the press is asking legitimate questions. I could definitely see Gibbs being Bush's press secretary, that would make a lot more sense. But not Obama's.

I don't get it, this administration has much less to be worried about than the previous one, so this whole screening process seems to be a bunch of paranoia.

Astralwand: Since this is the second thread on the exact same topic from yesterday I will just cut and paste my response.


"Are you guys retarded, the white house wanted a question from the Iranian people, they knew the huffington post was in contact with people in the Iranian population and asked them to field a question from them. This is just a case of the old media getting it's panties in a wad because some blog got to ask the second question.

Have you ever listened to the questions Jeff Ganon asked Bush, compared to the actually hard questions proposed by the Huffington post, you would freaking laugh at this crap."


I guess you either didn't watch the video or you don't get it either. It isn't about the questions, it is about the idea that the administration is trying to control who gets to ask the questions, how the questions are asked, and have now gone so far as to take a town hall forum, which is supposed to be public, and made it invite-only. And Gibbs' "solution" of having reporters submit questions via email is bullshiat too, because that has to be one of the easiest ways to screen the questions and/or prepare canned responses to them. The idea behind transparent government should be to allow spontaneous,unexpected,and natural questions and answers of the same kind.

Phil Herup: Semi-Sane: I almost feel sorry for Obama supporters.


Don't be.

Feel sorry for America.


I feel bad for America. Almost destroyed by 8 years of Bush, she is in bad shape. I am glad you can finally admit that.

mynameismark: I feel bad for America. Almost destroyed by 8 years of Bush, she is in bad shape. I am glad you can finally admit that.

Could be worse: McCain could have won.

Tor_Eckman: OMFG! A WH press secretary fighting with the press!!!

Yawn.

Well, at least he took questions. Bush's team tried to send her to the back of the room and would avoid her like the plague, because they were pussies.

Tyee: And yet some believe that this administration is transparent, open and forthright.

Some people are easy to fool because they want to believe, or be fooled.

Ah, projection, it is the bane of the right.

Cat Food Sandwiches: Obama can't think on his feet and needs planted questions. End of story.

Yes, Obama is clearly dumber than the last President or you.

I'm just happy to see Larry Bird doing so well for himself.

freddie freeloader: Gibbs: We can have this discussion ad nauseam...
Thomas: Of course we can, because you don't have any answers.
Gibbs: (giggling)

What an asshole.

To be fair, they weren't asking any actual questions. It was whining hyperbole.

Zumaki:

And Gibbs' "solution" of having reporters submit questions via email is bullshiat too, because that has to be one of the easiest ways to screen the questions and/or prepare canned responses to them. The idea behind transparent government should be to allow spontaneous,unexpected,and natural questions and answers of the same kind.

The "questions by e-mail" were for the town hall. And unless you want 5 people asking the same question or "He's an Arab." type bullshiat, it's a way to cut through the treacle.

I fail to see the transparency issues with this.

RevMercutio: The "questions by e-mail" were for the town hall. And unless you want 5 people asking the same question or "He's an Arab." type bullshiat, it's a way to cut through the treacle.

I fail to see the transparency issues with this.

Gibbs would've fared much better by saying "most screening is done to eliminate potentially inappropriate discourse in a public forum. But if you guys really want Obama to answer on 'whether or not he's a gay secret muslim' 400 times, alright then!"

While I'm mostly with you on this, the administration shot themselves them in the foot by screaming "TRANSPERENCY! OPENNESS!" a little too much. Simply saying "we'll embrace new media and different outlets to take in questions and discussion" would've sufficed, quite honestly.

terriblist: mat catastrophe: terriblist: poorcku: terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

Hey man, I'm a journalist blogger myself, but I have more respect for Nico at HuffPo than most of them. The "he got a call before the press conference" is a non-issue. Who cares? He's a journalist blogger; he presumably would have been prepared to ask a question regardless; and he asked a question tough enough that Obama felt the need to dodge it. If elite Washington reporters had their emotions in check a bit more, they could ignore that incident and more strongly press Gibbs on the details of the town hall meeting.

FTFY.

Also, what kind of journalist writes a sentence with two semicolons?

You really want to get into this with me? Not that I care much about the distinction between print and online journalism, but I've written several cover stories for a few (quite small!) national print magazines, along with countless shorter articles. By this point in my career I know that yes, you can string three independent clauses together using two semicolons.

What's your angle here? Just being a dick for fun?

I am obviously not being a dick for profit.

Also, I was totally yanking your chain. Bloggers don't know what the heck a semicolon does.

I also assume the administration can spell "transparency" correctly. Blackberries have spellchecker applications, I believe.

SomebodyElsesShoes: Umokay: In my opinion, Gibbs seems like a smarmy ass who deserves to be humiliated whenever opportunities arise. It is the constant giggling and the overwhelming condescension that speaks volumes about this guy and the administration that allows him to continue being its voice.

Have you seen the other people in that room? Besides Thomas, the White House Press Corps is the smarmiest bunch of journalist/stenographers in existence, for god's sake, they got all pissed when one of them wasn't called for the second question in a press conference! Sometimes you get the press sec, you deserve, not the one you need.

And that invalidates the point they were making?
/I think not.

Yeah, I'm smarmy and ALL OF FARKDOM worships me

!

RevMercutio:

The "questions by e-mail" were for the town hall. And unless you want 5 people asking the same question or "He's an Arab." type bullshiat, it's a way to cut through the treacle.

I fail to see the transparency issues with this.

Well that's the joy of a town hall meeting: sometimes when you meet the public and let them ask questions, they're going to ask stupid questions. Public forum meetings are meant to be devoid of a screening process. I don't want to hear people ask stupid questions but if he's going to have a town hall meeting, he needs to do it right.

While screening questions in a "town hall" meeting might sound bad, you know the right-wing cons would be the first in line to ask questions about Obama's birth certificate or the secret muslim accustions. The Administration doesn't want to waste time with these kinds of idiots. They want to answer good, legitimate questions from educated minds.

You thought I was joking when I was telling you Bush=Obama during the election. You got what you wanted, more war, a police state, and slavery to the Fed. Enjoy! Have a nice 4th of July.

/Ron Paul

Raptor_1.4G: You thought I was joking when I was telling you Bush=Obama during the election. You got what you wanted, more war, a police state, and slavery to the Fed. Enjoy! Have a nice 4th of July.

/Ron Paul

We didn't think you were joking, we just don't take you seriously.

Bolo Jungle: Nothing in this regard is as clumsy or awful as how the Bush team handled things, so everything looks better in comparison. But this is a legitimate point and, on the one hand, the Obama team are not living up to the expectations they set and, on the other, Gibbs is over-matched. Can't really think on his feet - and that is at the top of the list on his job description.

Really? Actually its far worse, W threw a few plants in to make him look a little better- Obama is picking the whole crowd and handing out scripts. And Obama was the one who promised to do better.

Anything short of calling this appaling is hypocritical of an Obama supporter. It is a direct betrayal of everything he promised. My own outrage is well temopered by the fact that Im a cynic who expected just such a betrayal.

Cat Food Sandwiches: Obama can't think on his feet and needs planted questions. End of story.

This.

Sounds to me like the 'White House' invited some people and the college invited others and questions would be screened to remove the BS ones.

/manufactured controversy is lame