6 ms·

Is there a historic precedent for this?

by skolos 10y ago

the_watcher 10y ago
The Obama administration attempted to freeze out Fox News, although it wasn't so explicit. To the credit of the rest of the press, they revolted enough that they backed down.
- rc_bhg 10y ago
  Not even close to the same thing. Not even in the same ball park.
  - the_watcher 10y ago
    They did bar them from attending some press briefings. Again, it wasn't as explicit, and it didn't come on the heels of such explicit aggression towards the media in general, but it very much was in the same ballpark.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > They did bar them from attending some press briefings. [citation needed]
    - rc_bhg 10y ago
      > They did bar them from attending some press briefings Citation is still needed
jerf 10y ago
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63167-congressional-democrats-defend-white-houses-snub-of-fox-news http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63167-congression... It's not a 100% precise match, but I'd look dimly on anyone trying to argue it's completely different somehow. Reverse the affiliations and you'd almost think it was written today. (Almost.)
- skolos 10y ago
  This article also mentions another case: > no such similar steps by any president since Richard Nixon’s retaliation against The New York Times and The Washington Post during Watergate
- mintplant 10y ago
  I know many won't actually click through to read the linked article, so I think it's important to cite this here in the comments: > The effort hasn’t been a total blackout; White House press secretary Robert Gibbs still calls on Fox News reporter Major Garrett at press briefings, but the Obama White House is clearly targeting the network that it believes is biased. > In a weekend interview with The New York Times, White House spokeswoman Anita Dunn said the administration would “treat them the way we would treat an opponent.” A similar situation, and not "completely different", but not exactly the same, either.
  - vacri 10y ago
    It's not that similar. Fox wasn't barred from the briefings. It's just that folks weren't willing to be personally interviewed by them or go on their panel shows. The latter requires active engagement from the establishment, as people have to do a lot of prep work for interviews; the former is just another reporter in the scrum.
- CGamesPlay 10y ago
  Wow. I would have read that in 2009 and thought that it was totally fine. Reading it now I see quotes like "calling them out is the only way to delegitimize them as political propaganda" and I'm extremely against the notion. That article was a great dose of perspective, thanks for digging it out.
davidw 10y ago
Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, maybe?
- korakas 10y ago
  you conveniently forgot about Obama but I guess that was Fox News so lol who cares right?
yummyfajitas 10y ago
A quick google search suggests Obama did the same thing. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6156794&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6156794&pag...
- agildehaus 10y ago
  That's hardly equivalent.
  - serf 10y ago
    you're right. Trump should have just reduced the amount of chairs available and warned the folks he liked, like Obama did. Right? God forbid a president do something straight forward without making up reasons as to why it is a noble action. I agree it's wrong, but I'm not willing to give a pass to another president because he worded it differently and achieved the same ousting.
    - neilellis 10y ago
      Check the date on that article. He wasn't president.
    - daeken 10y ago
      > I'm not willing to give a pass to another president because he worded it differently and achieved the same ousting. Obama was a presidential candidate when that occurred, not a president.
    - addicted 10y ago
      Are you comparing seats on a plane to seats in a press briefing room?
    - agildehaus 10y ago
      Obama wasn't president when this happened. This wasn't Air Force One they couldn't fly on. Limited space without the logistical capacity to bring in another plane seems a perfectly valid excuse to me.
mikeyouse 10y ago
From the article; “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement.
cmdrfred 10y ago
Not that I'm aware of. Obama clearly disliked Fox News[0] but never went so far as to ban them. [0]http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/obama-shuns-fox-news-at-press-conferences/ http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/obama-shuns-fox-news-at-p...
coldtea 10y ago
So, like Obama doing the same? Or like countless other times, sans the mock-outrage (and the real outrage stemming out of ignorance)? http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/10/cpj-report-on-obama-press/2960607/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/10/cpj-report-on-... Or: Reporters Say Obama White House 'Most Secretive' Ever Forty-one percent of White House scribes say George W. Bush's administration was more open. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2014/05/01/reporters-say-obama-white-house-most-secretive-ever https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2014...

Is there a historic precedent for this?

by skolos 10y ago

Is there a historic precedent for this?

The Obama administration attempted to freeze out Fox News, although it wasn't so explicit. To the credit of the rest of the press, they revolted enough that they backed down.

rc_bhg 10y ago
Not even close to the same thing. Not even in the same ball park.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  They did bar them from attending some press briefings. Again, it wasn't as explicit, and it didn't come on the heels of such explicit aggression towards the media in general, but it very much was in the same ballpark.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > They did bar them from attending some press briefings. [citation needed]
  - rc_bhg 10y ago
    > They did bar them from attending some press briefings Citation is still needed

jerf 10y ago

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63167-congressional-democrats-defend-white-houses-snub-of-fox-news http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63167-congression... It's not a 100% precise match, but I'd look dimly on anyone trying to argue it's completely different somehow. Reverse the affiliations and you'd almost think it was written today. (Almost.)

skolos 10y ago
This article also mentions another case: > no such similar steps by any president since Richard Nixon’s retaliation against The New York Times and The Washington Post during Watergate
mintplant 10y ago
I know many won't actually click through to read the linked article, so I think it's important to cite this here in the comments: > The effort hasn’t been a total blackout; White House press secretary Robert Gibbs still calls on Fox News reporter Major Garrett at press briefings, but the Obama White House is clearly targeting the network that it believes is biased. > In a weekend interview with The New York Times, White House spokeswoman Anita Dunn said the administration would “treat them the way we would treat an opponent.” A similar situation, and not "completely different", but not exactly the same, either.
- vacri 10y ago
  It's not that similar. Fox wasn't barred from the briefings. It's just that folks weren't willing to be personally interviewed by them or go on their panel shows. The latter requires active engagement from the establishment, as people have to do a lot of prep work for interviews; the former is just another reporter in the scrum.
CGamesPlay 10y ago
Wow. I would have read that in 2009 and thought that it was totally fine. Reading it now I see quotes like "calling them out is the only way to delegitimize them as political propaganda" and I'm extremely against the notion. That article was a great dose of perspective, thanks for digging it out.

davidw 10y ago

Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, maybe?

korakas 10y ago
you conveniently forgot about Obama but I guess that was Fox News so lol who cares right?

yummyfajitas 10y ago

A quick google search suggests Obama did the same thing. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6156794&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6156794&pag...

agildehaus 10y ago
That's hardly equivalent.
- serf 10y ago
  you're right. Trump should have just reduced the amount of chairs available and warned the folks he liked, like Obama did. Right? God forbid a president do something straight forward without making up reasons as to why it is a noble action. I agree it's wrong, but I'm not willing to give a pass to another president because he worded it differently and achieved the same ousting.
  - neilellis 10y ago
    Check the date on that article. He wasn't president.
  - daeken 10y ago
    > I'm not willing to give a pass to another president because he worded it differently and achieved the same ousting. Obama was a presidential candidate when that occurred, not a president.
  - addicted 10y ago
    Are you comparing seats on a plane to seats in a press briefing room?
  - agildehaus 10y ago
    Obama wasn't president when this happened. This wasn't Air Force One they couldn't fly on. Limited space without the logistical capacity to bring in another plane seems a perfectly valid excuse to me.

mikeyouse 10y ago

From the article; “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement.

cmdrfred 10y ago

Not that I'm aware of. Obama clearly disliked Fox News[0] but never went so far as to ban them. [0]http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/obama-shuns-fox-news-at-press-conferences/ http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/obama-shuns-fox-news-at-p...

coldtea 10y ago

So, like Obama doing the same? Or like countless other times, sans the mock-outrage (and the real outrage stemming out of ignorance)? http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/10/cpj-report-on-obama-press/2960607/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/10/cpj-report-on-... Or: Reporters Say Obama White House 'Most Secretive' Ever Forty-one percent of White House scribes say George W. Bush's administration was more open. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2014/05/01/reporters-say-obama-white-house-most-secretive-ever https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2014...