Gannon-ade
Hindrocket has a good wrap of the Jim Guckert/Jeff Gannon flap.
In it, he quotes from this Howard Kurtz Washington Post piece, which manages to interview the man at the center of the storm:
So it was a day pass? Big f-ing deal. I once got a day pass to the White House press corps. Must have been 1985. I had constables on my ass for unpaid traffic tickets, subscribed to the "Catholic Worker," traveled in Eastern Europe, and had done my share of sexual shenanigans and illicit drugs -- probably had participated in both within 48 hours of catching the Amtrak from Philly to D.C.
Reagan was president, and his administration had begun the policy of having periodic visits from people in the "smaller" media. At the Main Line Chronicle, with a circulation of about 12,000, we were about as small as it gets. I get the feeling these invites went out to papers in safely Republican districts, and the people who showed up with me sure asked a lot of softball questions. We were sprinkled among the regular White House press corps, which tolerated us.
If anyone's interested, I can dig out the article I wrote based on that trip, and fill in the details. But I do remember it was the press conference where Reagan, about to depart for Europe with a controversial itinerary, said the young S.S. officers buried in Bitburg Cemetery were "as much victims of Naziism" as the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I remember, though an ardent anarchist/libertarian at the time, thinking that was a bit overstated, but essentially historically correct in many cases. And I remember being surprised at the way the mainstream media jumped all over it the next day.
In it, he quotes from this Howard Kurtz Washington Post piece, which manages to interview the man at the center of the storm:
Gannon chastised his critics, breaking a silence that began last week when liberal bloggers disclosed his real name, James Dale Guckert, and a Web page, which he paid for, featuring X-rated photos of himself. “Why would they be looking into a person’s sexual history? Is that what we’re going to do to reporters now? Is there some kind of litmus test for reporters? Is it right to hold someone’s sexuality against them?”
Dismissing speculation that he had a permanent White House press pass, which requires a full-blown FBI background check that usually takes months, Gannon said he could not get one because he was required to first get a pass from the Senate press gallery, which did not consider him to be working for a legitimate news organization. Instead, he said he was admitted on a day-to-day basis after supplying his real name, date of birth and Social Security number. He said he did not use a pseudonym to hide his past but because his real last name is hard to spell and pronounce.
So it was a day pass? Big f-ing deal. I once got a day pass to the White House press corps. Must have been 1985. I had constables on my ass for unpaid traffic tickets, subscribed to the "Catholic Worker," traveled in Eastern Europe, and had done my share of sexual shenanigans and illicit drugs -- probably had participated in both within 48 hours of catching the Amtrak from Philly to D.C.
Reagan was president, and his administration had begun the policy of having periodic visits from people in the "smaller" media. At the Main Line Chronicle, with a circulation of about 12,000, we were about as small as it gets. I get the feeling these invites went out to papers in safely Republican districts, and the people who showed up with me sure asked a lot of softball questions. We were sprinkled among the regular White House press corps, which tolerated us.
If anyone's interested, I can dig out the article I wrote based on that trip, and fill in the details. But I do remember it was the press conference where Reagan, about to depart for Europe with a controversial itinerary, said the young S.S. officers buried in Bitburg Cemetery were "as much victims of Naziism" as the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I remember, though an ardent anarchist/libertarian at the time, thinking that was a bit overstated, but essentially historically correct in many cases. And I remember being surprised at the way the mainstream media jumped all over it the next day.
