Denying some of the world’s most revered news organizations access

Denying some of the world’s most revered news organizations access

What was the purpose of blocking news media outlets from covering the briefing ?


This is not the first bait and switch that the Trump organization has organized against journalists.

This is not the first organized humiliation of the press.


More news media outlets would have boycotted the news briefing, if they had known what the conditions would be.

From the Guardian-

These must be seen for what they are: the strong-arm tactics of an authoritarian. It is, in fact, a signature of authoritarian rulers that they turn the opposition into the enemy. The opposition is to be engaged and persuaded; the enemy is to be isolated and crushed.


The turning of the opposition into the enemy is often a prelude toward the final step of authoritarian consolidation: turning enemies into criminals. Do any of us dare to believe that Bannon, the system-destroyer, would shy away from this? And need we ask who is the real enemy of our constitutional democracy?

This radical attack cannot go unanswered. And the pushback must come from all corners – in particular from congressional Republicans. We cannot rely on John McCain, Lindsay Graham, and Cory Gardner to be the lone voices of concern. Congressional Republicans stand at a difficult crossroads.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...cal-attack-first-amendment-cnn-new-york-times

The Associated Press and Time magazine boycotted the closed briefing.

The New York Times, CNN, BuzzFeed News, Politico, and the LA Times were not allowed in.

Instead, a group that included handpicked reporters from conservative outlets were invited to chat with Spicer, including Breitbart, One America News Network, and the Washington Times. Some national news outlets, like ABC, were also allowed to attend the briefing.


"While we strongly object to the White House’s apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won’t let these latest antics distract us from the work of continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively.”

- BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith


https://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarr...-of-closed-pre?utm_term=.psq9Q8GJ3#.dx50XwLl6


CNN, BBC, The New York Times, LA Times, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed, The Hill, and the Daily Mail

In December, Spicer said that although the Trump campaign restricted some news outlets on the campaign trail, he would not do that in the White House because "we have a respect for the press when it comes to the government... that is something that you can't ban an entity from."

http://dcist.com/2017/02/white_house_media_ban.php

Kenneth P. Vogel‏ @kenvogel
FLASHBACK: @seanspicer in Dec. says Trump WH won't ban specific media outlets. "That's what makes a democracy a democracy vs a dictatorship"

https://mobile.twitter.com/kenvogel?ref_src=twsrc^tfw


White House press secretary Sean Spicer barred reporters from several large media outlets from participating in a scheduled press briefing Friday. Two months ago, in a panel discussion, he insisted that open access for the media is “what makes a democracy a democracy versus a dictatorship.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...e-barred-media-access/?utm_term=.defa685ffbf8

This is not the first organized humiliation of the press.

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Ahem. How many deliberate attacks and humiliations did the press allow itself to make against Trump?

I'm not saying he's all sweet and stuff. But come on. They had it coming.

Nezhul said:

Ahem. How many deliberate attacks and humiliations did the press allow itself to make against Trump?

I'm not saying he's all sweet and stuff. But come on. They had it coming.

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No, this goes into dangerous territory. I see this as a test as to how far the Administration can push the norms. Once all of the "bad press" has been banished it's just a simple matter to install the "official press". This is not a new scheme being played out here. What is surprising is that there are some in the country who think this is a good thing. Without a free press, we're screwed. Without independent reporting we would not know of Flynn's lies and that he was a concern to national security. And there's a lot more we all need to know about Donald and his Administration...what I don't understand is the blind acceptance by some who think he's not dangerous.

Nezhul said:

Ahem. How many deliberate attacks and humiliations did the press allow itself to make against Trump?

I'm not saying he's all sweet and stuff. But come on. They had it coming.

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Had it coming? For what? It's not the press' job to be a lapdog for any administration.

The man humiliates himself with his daily lies and contradictions. Remember when he whined about Obama going golfing and said he'd be too busy working to go golfing? Three consecutive weekends in a row the con artist has gone golfing (possibly four. I haven't checked this weekend).

Remember "Lock her up!"? How about, "Women like it when you grab 'em by the pussy."? Mexico will pay for it. We never had communications with Russia during the campaign. I would have received more votes had it not been for the vote fraud (after stopping the vote recounts by claiming there was no evidence of vote fraud).

If you believe reporting the actual words of the corrupt con artist is an attack, you're the problem, not the press.

someoneyouknow said:

Had it coming? For what? It's not the press' job to be a lapdog for any administration.

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It is in Russia.

Something else to consider. The U.S. is now in the same category as North Korea, China, Vietnam, Namibia and other countries who are criticized for banning independent reporting.

Way to go Trump. Keep lowering the bar.

gotsnowgotslush said:

Denying some of the world’s most revered news organizations access

What was the purpose of blocking news media outlets from covering the briefing ?

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To let them know that they are not in charge of the situation and if they want access they had better act like fucking adults.

yukonnights said:

What is surprising is that there are some in the country who think this is a good thing.

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To have an administration that isn't the social justice Democrats propaganda machines bitch?

Yea....that is a good thing. I hope he keeps giving them the finger and calling them a bunch of lying fuckers.

yukonnights said:

Without a free press, we're screwed.

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1A, we're good.

yukonnights said:

what I don't understand is the blind acceptance by some who think he's not dangerous.

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Says the guy who had no problem at all with the last administrations total lack of transparency...........you're just a partisan tool.

someoneyouknow said:

Had it coming? For what?

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For being a bunch of hysterical partisan assholes.

someoneyouknow said:

It's not the press' job to be a lapdog for any administration.

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Nor is it the administrations job to be a lapdog for any of the hyper partisan press.

someoneyouknow said:

Something else to consider. The U.S. is now in the same category as North Korea, China, Vietnam, Namibia and other countries who are criticized for banning independent reporting.

Way to go Trump. Keep lowering the bar.

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No, we aren't, independent reporting has not bee banned.


(D) propaganda outlets who's reps can't behave with any sort of even basic common manners and assume the authority to lecture POTUS on what is proper or not like they own the press meeting or some shit were not welcome to an exclusive.

Tough shit for them....maybe their reporters should stop behaving like petulant fucking children.

BotanyBoy said:

Nor is it the administrations job to be a lapdog for any of the hyper partisan press.

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Breitbart and Fox News beg to differ.

Maidboy said:

Breitbart and Fox News beg to differ.

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They behave like adults, so he lets them have access.

Now if he gave into CNN/MSN's wails about how horrible it is to be on the receiving end of socialism now that the boot is on (R)'s foot and planted firmly up their ass......that would make him a lapdog for (D)'s.

I do hope he keeps it up though.

Watching the hypocrites wail is fuckin' delicious....

BotanyBoy said:

Now if he gave into CNN/MSN's wails about how horrible it is to be on the receiving end of socialism now that the boot is on (R)'s foot and planted firmly up their ass......that would make him a lapdog for (D)'s.

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So now you're saying that the (R)s are socialists? Will wonders never cease?!

Trump now fully engaged in identifying and naming his enemies. The last nutcase paranoid who did this was Tricky Dick. Good times ahead.

Reporters noted several ironies.

Even as Trump denounced the media for relying on anonymous sources in his address Friday morning, senior White House officials were trashing CNN's report but declining to do so by name.

As several reporters noted, in an earlier life Trump used to call major newspapers using an assumed name to plant stories and offer comments as though he were someone else, acting as a publicity agent or spokesman for himself.

http://www.npr.org/2017/02/24/51711...eports-white-house-bars-outlets-from-briefing

gotsnowgotslush said:

Denying some of the world’s most revered news organizations access

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Revered? Watcha smokin' there? It's gotta be good stuff.

Alas, just more Fake News I'm afraid.

As the New York Times itself reported in 2015, President Barack Obama met privately with liberal reporters and columnists frequently throughout his tenure in office — “more than a dozen” times. And although he occasionally invited conservative columnists, “Liberal-leaning columnists from newspapers tend to dominate at Mr. Obama’s secret sessions.”

Obama’s private briefings for liberal members of the media, which excluded conservatives, were well-documented. A few:

December 2012: Several journalists reported that MSNBC hosts were meeting privately with President Obama to discuss the impending “fiscal cliff” fight.
May 2013: NPR’s Ari Shapiro reported that President Obama was meeting privately with “lefty columnists,” but hastened to add that there was “nothing nefarious” about it. I doubt that personally, but whatever....

November 2013: President Obama met again with liberal journalists, as Obamacare struggled with the failure of healthcare.gov and other problems.

March 2015: Politico’s media reporter, Hadas Gold, reported that “a group of journalists and columnists,” all on the left, met privately with President Obama, but the White House refused to say “who else was at the meeting or what was discussed.”

On Friday, CNN media reporter Dylan Byers expressed concern at the alleged exclusion of left-leaning media outlets. Yet in 2015, he wrote about the frequency of Obama’s private meetings with journalists. Byers noted that President Obama “holds the occasional meeting with conservatives,” but the list of “regulars” included a roster of prominent liberal journalists.

Oh dear, the New York Times‘ claim that “[n]othing like this has ever happened” is simply fake news.

And really, who gives a flying f**k what the crap left wing Pravda propaganda outlets think. I prefer real news anyhow. And you know that poll that said most of us trust Trump more than we trust the "media" - well, suck it up coz it's true. - As you will find out come the next elections, and the ones after that, and after that, again and again.

Have to say, I am SO looking forward to out first female President. Ivanka

"Mr. Trump is setting fires to prove to people that only he can save us."

(Smokie the Bear is a fictional character. But, he represents people that do the work of fighting forest fires. Who is the American public's watchdog, that warns others that a pyromaniac has access to the most powerful fire starting materials on Earth ? The legitimate, vetted, credentialed, trusted news media outlets watch, listen and report on what can be verified.

Trump values loyalty to himself, above all things. Trump drop kicks his team members out of the door, if any member shows any concern for the American public.

"Fuck them." That is Trump's attutude. Trump needs to believe that he is the sharpest knife in the knife drawer. That means he looks at everyone as a victim to be taken for all that they have, or a fellow grifter that must be taken down, trampled and humiliated.

The people that engineered this Trump election, gave us this monster for a leader.I will always blame the banks that kept Trump afloat. They put their famility jewels in a vise, to make a profit. They made a deal with a monster to keep their family jewels. The let a monster walk away, free. It is not their ox that is getting gored, so why should they care ? To top it all off, they will be getting tg go ahead from themonster they created, to gore and mutilate as many oxen hey want to victimize.

"Fuck them," happens to be the banks motto, too.

Trump does not want to be held accountable for anything he says or does. He has operated as if they were no consequences for wrong doing and malicious harm done to others.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...daaf400369a_story.html?utm_term=.5c231f78f484


Journalists do not have the advantage of having apologists, to explain away twitter remarks that have no basis in reality.

They cannot pass the buck, further down than the person that stands up, and tells what they know.

Trump, well he can always blame someone, else. He has made a habit of blaming others.

"...direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts. Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations.

"...that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/polit...st-to-knock-down-recent-trump-russia-stories/

gotsnowgotslush said:

"...direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts. Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations.

"...that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/polit...st-to-knock-down-recent-trump-russia-stories/

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FBI refused to lie about its investigation of Trump and his campaign's contacts with Russia:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/fbi-refused-white-house-request-to-knock-down-recent-trump-russia-stories/index.html

And then the administration tried to defend it even though they whined about Bill Clinton's contact with the FBI during the campaign:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-denies-report-that-fbi-rejected-its-request-to-knock-down-story/

Nothing like hypocrisy from the corrupt con artist.

ChloeTzang said:

Revered? Watcha smokin' there? It's gotta be good stuff.

Alas, just more Fake News I'm afraid.

As the New York Times itself reported in 2015, President Barack Obama met privately with liberal reporters and columnists frequently throughout his tenure in office — “more than a dozen” times. And although he occasionally invited conservative columnists, “Liberal-leaning columnists from newspapers tend to dominate at Mr. Obama’s secret sessions.”

And really, who gives a flying f**k what the crap left wing Pravda propaganda outlets think. I prefer real news anyhow.

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So you're citing a "fake news" NY Times report to prove your point? One that says that Obama occasionally invited conservative columnists to these "secret sessions" (sounds nefarious doesn't it? ) in addition to regular press conferences attended by reporters & columnists of all political leanings? How many liberals does Trump meet with? And you do realize that Pravda was a propaganda tool for the former Soviet Union, don't you? The "Evil Empire" that Trump's man-crush Putin used to be an intelligence operative for? Whatever it is you're smoking has really done a number on your critical thinking abilities.

BotanyBoy said:

No, we aren't, independent reporting has not bee banned.

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If the press isn't allowed at press conferences, reporting is banned. You can try to spin it however you want but it is a ban on a free and open press.

(D) propaganda outlets who's reps can't behave with any sort of even basic common manners and assume the authority to lecture POTUS on what is proper or not like they own the press meeting or some shit were not welcome to an exclusive.

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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

There is no such thing as "behaving". It is the press' job to report on what someone says. If that person is a sociopathic idiot and spews crap it's not their fault when they repeat him word for word.

And yes, it is the job of the press to lecture the president or its speaker on what is proper. It's called a press conference. Their job is to record whatever is being said. If the people speaking are too childish and amateurish to provide useful material it is the job of the press to request something more.

That is why the First Amendment exists.

Tough shit for them....maybe their reporters should stop behaving like petulant fucking children.

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Yes, because watching the childish flailings of this disastrous administration, it's the press who are the problem. Maybe if the gay white supremacist advisor didn't have such a hard-on for lying none of this would be an issue.

Maidboy said:

So you're citing a "fake news" NY Times report to prove your point? One that says that Obama occasionally invited conservative columnists to these "secret sessions" (sounds nefarious doesn't it? ) in addition to regular press conferences attended by reporters & columnists of all political leanings? How many liberals does Trump meet with? And you do realize that Pravda was a propaganda tool for the former Soviet Union, don't you? The "Evil Empire" that Trump's man-crush Putin used to be an intelligence operative for? Whatever it is you're smoking has really done a number on your critical thinking abilities.

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Shows how things have morphed doesnt it? I'd believe RT over CNN any day. Pravda? Oh of course, that's more or less what most of our media has become. The voice of the left. Its not news, its propaganda. And most of us know that. Witness polls on believability of the media. Anyhow, neither of us will convince the other. Live with it coz this is our turn. Democracy is a wonderful thing. And I hope democrats believe that coz the alternative is not good.

Some of the Russian flags used at Trump's rally, were saved from recapture by Trump operatives.

Somewhere, someone is waving one of Trump's Russian flags with much sarcasm,when they see Trump speak on television.

Somewhere in Russia, there is a Russian citizen watching Americans waving the Russian flag, while watching Putin sponsored programming.

(Unlike Americans,Russian citizens do not get a choice. Everything said in public, is what Putin wants to hear.)

gotsnowgotslush said:

Denying some of the world’s most revered news organizations access

What was the purpose of blocking news media outlets from covering the briefing ?

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Revered? CNN? Not in America. It has one of the smallest audiences of major Cable News. They're just a Democrat propaganda organ undermining a Presidential transition for the first time in history. Trump has a duty to shut them out as he should any anti-American propaganda arm undermining the government in war time.

Rightguide said:

Revered? CNN? Not in America. It has one of the smallest audiences of major Cable News. They're just a Democrat propaganda organ undermining a Presidential transition for the first time in history. Trump has a duty to shut them out as he should any anti-American propaganda arm undermining the government in war time.

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CNN isn't undermining the government. CNN is rightly criticizing Donald Trump, a man who should never have been put into the White House during war time.

Nezhul said:

Ahem. How many deliberate attacks and humiliations did the press allow itself to make against Trump?

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Not nearly enough to make up for all the free publicity it allowed itself to give him.

phrodeau said:

CNN isn't undermining the government. CNN is rightly criticizing Donald Trump, a man who should never have been put into the White House during war time.

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So if we were at war, what was Obama doing besides losing it? If we were at war, how come our military voted for Trump by a greater than 2 to 1 margin according to the exit polls I saw?

Besides, CNN isn't criticizing Trump, they're just acting as a mouthpiece for the demonrats. And losing marketshare. Nobody believes their BS anymore except the braindead. They're toast. It's only time before they fade out. The sooner the better.