Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy
 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4492778

Conservative Reporter Resigns Amid Controversy
by David Folkenflik

All Things Considered, February 9, 2005 · A reporter for the conservative news site TalonNews.com resigns. The reporter, who went by the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, drew critical attention at President Bush's Jan. 26 press conference when he referred in question to Democrats "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality" on the issue of retooling Social Security.

Liberal bloggers have disclosed that Gannon, who has little previous journalism experience, was easily granted a coveted White House press pass -- even though he did not work for a traditional or established news organization. He also routinely asked "softball" questions at press conferences. There are also allegations that Gannon is linked to Web sites with homoerotic themes.

Gannon spoke with NPR's David Folkenflik the day before he resigned. He says he is open about his conservative point of view, but that he is just as valid a journalist as other reporters in the White House press corps.

Online Reporter Quits After Liberals' Expose

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page C01

The conservative reporter who asked President Bush a loaded question at a news conference last month resigned yesterday after liberal bloggers uncovered his real name and raised questions about his background.

Jeff Gannon, who had been writing for the Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA, is actually James Dale Guckert, 47, and has been linked to online domain addresses with sexually provocative names. He has been under scrutiny since asking Bush how he could work with Senate Democratic leaders "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality." The information about Gannon was posted on the liberal sites Daily Kos, Atrios and World o' Crap.



Under the headline "A Voice of the New Media: The Voice Goes Silent," Gannon wrote on his personal Web page that because of the attention "I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News" and that he is quitting "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family." Gannon added in a brief interview that "my family has been victimized" and that he wanted to "put some separation between Talon News and the White House."

Gannon's resignation highlights the no-holds-barred atmosphere of the Web, which both enabled him to function as a reporter -- his stories appeared on a site founded by Texas Republican activist Bobby Eberle -- and produced a swarm of critics determined to expose him.

Among the domain names registered by Gannon's company several years ago, but never launched, were Hotmilitarystud.com, Militaryescorts.com and Militaryescortsm4m.com, along with Exposejessejackson.com. The bloggers also have linked to a since-withdrawn America Online photo of a man who appears to be Gannon, posing in his underwear, with a screen name bearing the initials "JDG."
Markos Moulitsas, a San Francisco liberal who writes the popular Kos site, said of Gannon: "He has been extremely anti-gay in his writings. He's been a shill for the Christian right. So there's a certain level of hypocrisy there that I thought was fair game and needed to be called out."

Asked if digging into someone's personal and business activities was proper retaliation, Moulitsas said: "If that's what it took to really bring attention to him, it's one of those unfortunate facts of reality in the way we operate today. It's sex that really draws attention to these things."

Gannon, whose past postings have been removed from his site and by Talon and GOPUSA, denied taking positions against gays. "I have not written any anti-gay articles," he said. "I have written stories on the White House position on the gay marriage amendment."

In 2003, when Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) told the Associated Press that legalizing gay sex could lead to judicial approval of "man on dog" activities, Gannon wrote a Talon article headlined "Santorum Won't Apologize; AP Reporter Has Kerry Ties." Gannon quoted gay activists offering what he said were "predictable responses," then questioned the role of the AP reporter, who was married to John Kerry's then-campaign manager.

In a story last year, Gannon wrote that Kerry "might someday be known as 'the first gay president.' . . . The Massachusetts liberal has enjoyed a 100% rating from the homosexual advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), since 1995 in recognition of his support for the pro-gay agenda."

Glenn Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor who writes on InstaPundit.com, said the tactics used against Gannon "seem to me to be despicable.

"If I were a member of the White House press corps, I'd be really worried," Reynolds said. "If working for a biased news organization disqualifies you, a lot of people have a lot to be worried about. If being involved in a dubious business venture is disqualifying, I suspect a lot of people have a lot to be worried about. I guess I don't see what all this has to do with his job."

Eberle said in a statement: "I understand and support Jeff's decision, and have accepted the resignation," adding that Talon is looking for a replacement.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), welcomed the news. In his question at the presidential news conference, Gannon had said that in an effort to disparage the U.S. economy "Harry Reid was talking about soup lines," which is not accurate and which Gannon later acknowledged was a characterization he picked up from Rush Limbaugh. "New media or old media, the fact is the question he asked was based on a lie, and that's unacceptable," Manley said. "Fundamentally, what he was reporting was not truthful."

In a letter to Bush, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said that "it appears that 'Mr. Gannon's' presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your administration." She asked the president to explain why Gannon "was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed the propaganda charge as "just a wild conspiracy theory." As for whether Gannon should be admitted to White House briefings, McClellan said Slaughter "must not have been watching the briefings lately, because she'd see a number of advocates in that briefing room."

Several White House correspondents say they saw Gannon wearing what appeared to be a permanent White House pass with his picture and pseudonym -- legal names are generally required because of the Secret Service background check -- and that McClellan sometimes called on Gannon when he wanted a softer question. McClellan disputed this, saying he calls on reporters "row by row." He also said Gannon did not have a permanent pass and was admitted on a day-to-day basis like many other journalists, adding that he does not meddle with the process on political grounds.

In an interview last week, Gannon explained the pseudonym by saying that some people prefer to use more "commercially appealing" names. He complained about "nuts" on the left and said he had been stalked and threatened. He has told colleagues he was willing to shrug off the threats but became upset when relatives were contacted and harassed.

In a posting on another Gannon site called the Conservative Guy, which has since been taken down, he says he has been "a preppie, a yuppie, blue-collar, green-collar and white-collar. I've served in the military, graduated from college, taught in the public school system, was a union truck driver, a management consultant, a fitness instructor and an entrepreneur. I'm a two-holiday Christian and I usually vote Republican because they most often support conservative positions."

His mission, Gannon wrote, is to "help people to realize that they have conservative core values and are therefore conservatives" and "to expose the liberal lies perpetuated by the media, Hollywood, the teachers' unions and the Democratic Party."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...b9.html?sub=AR

:lol::lol::lol:

Those right-wing fundies sure are closeted perverts.

One of this guy's question was something like, "After Bush's honorable discharge did he throw medals, denounce soldiers like Jane Fonda, etc. etc.?" As though these liberals' behavior has anything to do with Bush's lack of service! He's a hack and he was fired because of that, not because of his opinions. He also said "Are those who are outraged by US occupation in Iraq as outraged about Saddam's rape rooms and torture chambers [a direct Hannity-ism]." :rolleyes:

Bush really has an issue with reporters...


Chris

well, Anne "I have testicles" Coulter said right wingers have better sex - and in the middle of a serious political commentary no less :laugh: :rolleyes: :laugh:

If they're not on his payroll...

Because they keep calling him on his crap.

Yup, on Bill Maher. She even cited Newsweek. :rolleyes:

They do? :shocked:

NOTE TO ALL - according to Diss., the media has never ever once questioned W on any of his policies and they never ever once reported anything but glowing results from Iraq :laugh: :wavey:

Of course they call him on it, the public just does not care as they think all Middle Easterners are terrorists should be killed.

I think we have better sex too! :laugh:

It was a joke!!! I am not married, and I do live a sexless life right now :( ! :laugh: I love how Ann uses hyperbole in her debates, just when the liberal is getting really angry, she throws in a good ol' smart remark!

Please see the Jeff Gannon story.

I was being snarky :cool: But, my point was anyone who read any newspaper or Time, Newsweek, etc. or ever watched CNN or even, to a lesser extent, Fox - saw the reports of what was happening in Iraq. Thus, I think America knows it but does not care because they do not care if all Muslims in the Middle East are killed - I mean look at how many people assume all Muslims are anti-peace and terrorists. It is terrifying to me.

and

ya mean this one :laugh:

White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny
By Charlie Savage and Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent | February 2, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website.

Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is "committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers." It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as "bringing the conservative message to America."

Called on last week by President Bush at a press conference, Gannon attacked Democratic Senate leaders and called them "divorced from reality." During the presidential campaign, when called on by Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Gannon linked Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, to Jane Fonda and questioned why anyone would dispute Bush's National Guard service.

Now, the question of how Gannon gets into White House press conferences is coming under intense scrutiny from critics who contend that Gannon is not a journalist but rather a White House tool to soften media coverage of Bush. The issue was raised by a media watchdog group and picked up by Internet bloggers, who linked Gannon's presence in White House briefings to recent controversies over whether the administration manipulates the flow of information to the public.

These include the disclosure that the Education Department secretly paid columnist Armstrong Williams to promote its education policy and the administration's practice of sending out video press releases about its policies that purport to be "news stories" by fake journalists.

McClellan said Gannon has not been issued -- nor requested -- a regular "hard pass" to the White House, and instead has come in for the past two years on daily passes. Daily passes, he said, may be issued to anyone who writes for an organization that publishes regularly and who is cleared to enter the building.

He said other reporters and political commentators from lesser-known newsletters and from across the political spectrum also attend briefings, though he could not recall any Internet bloggers. McClellan said it is not the White House's role to decide who is and who is not a real journalist and dismissed any notion of conspiracy.

Nonetheless, transcripts of White House briefings indicate that McClellan often calls on Gannon and that the press secretary -- and the president -- have found relief in a question from Gannon after critical lines of questioning from mainstream news organizations.

When Bush called on Gannon near the end of his nationally televised Jan. 26 news conference, he had just been questioned about Williams and the Education Department funds, an embarrassment to the administration. Gannon's question was different.

"Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the US economy," Gannon said. "[Minority Leader] Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you said you're going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

As it turned out, Reid had never talked about soup lines. That was a phrase attributed to him in satire by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show.

Last year, during the presidential campaign, Gannon's comments could be even more pointed. In a Feb. 10, 2004, briefing with McClellan, for example, Gannon rose to deliver the following:

"Since there have been so many questions about what the president was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America's racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else's medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting?"

David Brock, the former investigative journalist who made his name revealing aspects of former President Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs, said he was watching last week's press conference on television and the "soup lines" question sparked his interest because it "struck me as so extremely biased." Brock asked his media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, to look into Talon News.

It quickly discovered two things, he said. First, both Talon and the political organization GOP USA were run by a Texas Republican activist and party delegate named Bobby Eberle. Second, many of the reports Gannon filed for Talon News "appeared to be lifted verbatim from various White House and Republican political committee documents."

Eberle did not return phone calls yesterday, and Gannon declined to comment. He did reply to Brock's group on his personal blog: "In many cases I have liberally used the verbiage provided on key aspects of the issue because it is the precise expression of where the White House stands -- free of any 'spin.' It's the ultimate in journalistic honesty -- unvarnished and unfiltered. If only others would be as forthcoming."

© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/wa...nder_scrutiny/

Aaron Brown had a fantastic segment on it tonight.

I missed it - check your PM's :wavey:

That explains a lot. :(

You must not have seen it or else you wouldn't be calling it "hyperbole." She reminds me of an ill-tempered barroom floozy. Nothing smart ever comes out of her mouth.

I think she knows EXACTLY what she is doing - I think she is savy in that she knows that if she dresses provocatively and says what a bubba wants to hear, she will sell a book. I also think the media are whores becuase they know the stuff she says in untrue - I mean even BO called her on that - but they know the rating will be high when she is on. Sadly, her lies helped fuel the fear that led most of America to think SH was resp. for 9/11 and that if we did not IMMEDIATELY invade Iraq he would develop a nuclear weapon to use against us or our allies. I think she is treasonous within the legal definition.

Although I disagree about most of what you said above I do agree with one thing, that Ann is smart and that she knows what she is doing. Ann has a brilliant legal mind, like what she says or not!

Ann Coulter preaches to the choir. Her only appeal is to the right-wing whack jobs and religious fundies, no others. The day she actually has an influence on the American public in general is the day monkeys fly out of my ass and call me Patti Lupone. :laugh:

But of course. Anyone who says that Joe McCarthy is the one of the greatest American's who ever lived has to be brilliant. :rolleyes:

I said, LIKE what she says or NOT, she has a brilliant legal mind.

Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences, and received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review. Coulter clerked for the Honorable Pasco Bowman II of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was an attorney in the Department of Justice Honors Program for outstanding law school graduates.

After practicing law in private practice in New York City, Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she handled crime and immigration issues for Senator Spencer Abraham of Michigan. From there, she became a litigator with the Center For Individual Rights in Washington, DC, a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights with particular emphasis on freedom of speech, civil rights, and the free exercise of religion.

These are not what I would call the accomplishments of an idiot!

I would never insult La Lupone like that :laugh:

BTW - she is coming to Hotlanta in May - I CANNOT WAIT - she is doing five or so shows at The Fox (which is a BEAUTIFUL old movie palace where GOne With the Wind Premiered http://www.foxtheatre.org/ ) - I may go to all of the shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You wouldn't call holding the office of the President of the United States the accomplishment of an idiot, either, but look no further than George W. Bush.

I don't blame you! :blob1:

She was on Will and Grace last week, ya know. And Chita Rivera (LOVE her) and Michelle Lee were on it tonight. :thumbsup:

Well, this is true, but not looking a George W. Bush as the idiot but more along the lines of someone like Clinton, Carter, etc...

Chita Rivera is pretty good...I have seen her in person in NYC at a Red Carpet Premire...but to me she is starting to really look O-L-D!!!!

:laugh:

To even refer to such geniuses as "idiots" is absurd and you know it.

Geniuses???...my GOD! You really must have a low standard for that term, it surely is thrown around to much today!

She is in her seventies. :shrug:

I saw her in Nine with Antonio Banderas and she's still bloody fantastic. Reminds me of Eartha Kitt to some degree.

I went with my girlfriend to the Liza's Back live at the Beacon in NYC in 2003, thats where I saw Chita...but yea she does look pretty good then for her age. I caught a look at David Guest though :eek: WHAT A FREAK!

Don't you mean boyfriend? :shocked:

David Gest had better stay out fo the sun or he'll melt. No one can look so naturally ugly and disgusting, you have to work on achieving such a gross appearance.

Well, Clinton came from the gutter and worked his way into being a Rhodes Scholar. Conversely, W got into Yale because he was a legacy and then preceeded to become a C student. Clinton speaks eloquently, W often has subject verb disagreement and cannot pronounce many polysyllabic words.

Thus, I think there is no question Clinton is a brighter bulb than the tenebrous and somewhat caliginous cavern of W's lower eschelon of intelligence :cool:

I had dinner next to her in NYC (CR) a little over a year ago. She was INCREDIBLE - he little white god was with her and it sort of came over on the banquette to my table. We were like "WE LOVE YOU" and she was like "I LOVE YOU TOO DARLINGS" - what a woman!!!!!!!!!

I saw Eartha Kitt in Nine about two years ago - she was AMAZING for a 40 year old - much less a woman her age :eek: :nod:

No, I'm a guy! LOL...didn't you know this? Sorry.

David Gest is really ugly and just strange. I'm glad Liza is away from him! Do you watch Arrested Development! THE FUNNIEST SHOW ON TV...Liza's recurring character on that show is freakin' funny!

Eartha Kitt is one of the loves of my life. :laugh: I love her to death. She's got balls and she's got talent. I'll never forget her chastizing Lady Bird Johnson in the White House about Vietnam and weed. :laugh:

Clinton is a Rhodes Scholar and arguably the most intelligent president we have ever had.
President Carter graduated from Annapolis.