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> Just imagine if during the Johnson or Nixon admins the gov/FBI/etc had actual "embeds" in the WaShPo/NYT, etc. That’s pretty much what journalist Carl Bernst
by sammalloy 4y ago
> Just imagine if during the Johnson or Nixon admins the gov/FBI/etc had actual "embeds" in the WaShPo/NYT, etc.
That’s pretty much what journalist Carl Bernstein claimed in 1977, followed much later by historian Hugh Wilford in 2008.
- mc32 4y agoMy understanding is that in those days the press and gov were on the same "page" but it was more like when airlines hike prices or lower prices in response to a competitor rather than having actual embeds offering their opinion on what was received facts and what was "misinformation". If Johnson or Nixon has had that level of access and influence, I doubt the VN war protests or Watergate complex scandal would have been as large as they were.
- sammalloy 4y agoI’m inclined to mostly agree with you, but I think when it came to politically charged subjects there might have been some influence or attempts, particularly around left-wing issues, communism, labor unions, and civil rights topics. Nixon had his famous Enemies List which was filled with journalists, and Nancy Reagan was in frequent communication with Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler about the criticism of her husband (then California governor) in the paper, as only two examples.