politicsofrepresentation

posts about #politicsofrepresentation more →
Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
20% Of N.Y.U. Students Would Rather Have An iPod Than A Vote
The Many Technicolor Faces Of Rudy Giuliani

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Flackette Goes Retro
01/22/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
This is why flacks like me are annoyed by people like this. Please interpret "people like this" to mean any or all of the parties in this story, none of whom seem capable of figuring out their jobs.
Reply

Uncle_Billy_Slumming
01/22/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Maybe this is the issue: It doesn't matter if the reports are posted only on the White House site or not. If they are posted there at all, it's a convenient way to aggregate information about the president. When the staffers have all this information in one place, they no longer have to round up every little tidbit themselves, which saves time and effort. It also allows them to react very quickly should anything "problematic" crop up. In general, people would get comfortable with having all the info sitting on the site, and should nothing out of the ordinary happen for a few months, they would come to trust that the stories are not being tampered with. If a problem does happen, it is easy for them to quickly delete or change subtly, and to contact the reporter or editor and manage the spin.

Or.... something like that.
Reply

freedc
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
I have a problem with this because there should be some effing boundries between the press and the government. Boundries, people!

This story is hysterical, Owen, I can't believe the WHCA lady sent you that email and then the brand-new white house intern confirmed it all. I pictured NBC page Kenneth talking to you on the phone all chipper and helpful.
Reply

freedc was starred freedc was unstarred

OwenKlient
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Yeah, I'm not getting the controversy here. It is not like whitehouse.gov is the sole repository of pool reports and they then edit those reports or notes or had say over what is or is not published.
Reply

OwenKlient was starred OwenKlient was unstarred

Owen Thomas
01/21/09

@OwenKlient: It's not the repository as much as the means of distribution that concerns me. Why would the White House press office be the one to ask about how the pool report gets distributed? Aside from distributing a copy internally to staff, as they might do with other clippings, I don't see why they should be involved at all. And yet, according to Whiston, they are -- so much so that she can't answer questions about the process her organization ought to be running.
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

ninety_nine
01/21/09

@Owen Thomas: whitehouse.gov is the Intranet for WH staff? Huh, I thought it would be a good place for citizens to access government documents regularly circulated by both the gov't and press channel. But since I'm the third person to ask this, could you answer simply: is this the only place to access the pool reports? If not, what's wrong with posting on a government site a document otherwise circulated? Hell, why would it be wrong for the subject of any story posting notes online? Is the routinely information in notes for stories that contradict finished items? Isn't that what people call errors?
Reply

ninety_nine was starred ninety_nine was unstarred

Owen Thomas
01/22/09

@ninety_nine: You've hit on the exact problem: Pool reports are not government documents. The WHCA's website would be a perfect place to post them. But Whiston seems more interested in posting pretty pictures of the White House Correspondents' Dinner there.
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

Owen Thomas
01/22/09

@freedc: I talked to a longtime pool contributor who confirmed that the White House has been running pool-report distribution for years.
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

ninety_nine
01/22/09

@Owen Thomas: But effectively they are -- to me. I mean, the problem here isn't that the government is posting what are more than semi-public documents, but that our "representatives" (WCHA) in providing some public check in the form of reporting is more secretive than the government. But you point makes it seem like that WH, by effectively saying 'hey, you know what, maybe it's time to stop the press pool being an old reporters club' and providing the information indiscriminately. Now that so many more sources and outlets want to provide analysis about government activity, the model developed well before the internet no longer functions effectively. It is one thing for a reporter to claim copyright on notes of an interview, but how is this not like congressional minutes? If anyone doesn't like the new model, they can drop out of the pool. I'm sure there are hundreds of reporters who would want to step up.
Reply

ninety_nine was starred ninety_nine was unstarred

ninety_nine
01/22/09

@Owen Thomas: So what you are saying is your post is entirely a non-story -- maybe you should have waited for the call back. Or, perversely, though no one had a problem with the old model of private distribution, you think this new public one is now perverting truth?

Screaming manipulation is nothing new when it comes to any beat, right? I'd hazard this method started because no news organization wanted to bear the cost of distribution back when faxes and such were relatively expensive -- and enforcing equal investment would be tricky (can't you see Murdoch saying, "hell no, I'm not faxing my notes to the Times"). I mean, you guys barely link out to other sites anymore, and that is free.
Reply

ninety_nine was starred ninety_nine was unstarred

miss_msry
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Good one Owen.
Reply

miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred

misslinda
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
I predict a "forward/reply/reply all" style snafu is going to be the undoing of this administration.
Reply

misslinda was starred misslinda was unstarred

flipper baby
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
For true. In the Clinton days both the lede and Owen would have been buried by now.
Reply

flipper baby was starred flipper baby was unstarred

La Cieca
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Our new president loves transparency and freedom. But he also likes controlling and manipulating the press.

Now, there's a lede that deserves to be buried.
Reply

La Cieca was starred La Cieca was unstarred

Owen Thomas
01/21/09

@La Cieca: Why?
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

Xylo
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Ruh-roh. Transparency - ur doing it wrong, Julia. Think before hitting "Send".
Reply

Xylo was starred Xylo was unstarred

AwakenedDesires
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Please tell me she did not really spell "though" as "tho".
Reply

AwakenedDesires was starred AwakenedDesires was unstarred

miss_msry
01/21/09

@AwakenedDesires:

And committee as cmt.
Reply

miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred

contradicto
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Maybe I'm not reading this correctly, but I'm not understanding the controversy.
Reply

contradicto was starred contradicto was unstarred

Mary Mouse
01/21/09

@contradicto: Let me see if I can break this down for you. Obama swims laps in his pool and then takes an outdoor shower. The journos are arguing over whose turn it is next to hide in the bushes with a pair of binoculars.
Reply

Mary Mouse was starred Mary Mouse was unstarred

Private Hangnail
01/21/09

@Mary Mouse: But where does the dog with the tennis ball fit in?
Reply

Private Hangnail was starred Private Hangnail was unstarred

saythatscool
01/21/09

@Private Hangnail: This is the man that throws the tennis ball.

He runs things.
Reply

saythatscool was starred saythatscool was unstarred

BadUncle
01/21/09

@saythatscool: So, Owen must face Julia Whiston in the Thunderdome?
Reply

BadUncle was starred BadUncle was unstarred

Mary Mouse
01/21/09

@Private Hangnail: Oh, he was there for the First Puppy auditions.
Reply

Mary Mouse was starred Mary Mouse was unstarred

saythatscool
01/21/09

@BadUncle: We are beyond Thunderdome now Tio.
Reply

saythatscool was starred saythatscool was unstarred

Private Hangnail
01/21/09

@saythatscool: Cheney and Bush are out, they're out I tell you!!
Reply

Private Hangnail was starred Private Hangnail was unstarred

kitkatsplash
01/21/09

@Private Hangnail: I'm more confused by this story than enlightened.

So, the pool report would ONLY be available on the whitehouse.gov or will ALSO be available on whitehouse gov? If the answer is "only," then I see Owen's point if it's "also" then I see no issue.
Reply

kitkatsplash was starred kitkatsplash was unstarred

Moff
01/21/09

@kitkatsplash: Exactly. I agree that Obama has done a masterful job of working the press, and that we need to be healthily skeptical and make sure he's not just paying lip service to transparency. But sorry, Owen -- if there's a problem here, you have done a pretty poor job of explaining why. Not to mention that your posts regularly seem to be trying to drum up controversy where there is none.

For starters, if the pool report is originally generated by reporters, and those reporters presumably have access to it after it's compiled, too, wouldn't someone notice if important items started disappearing off of it?
Reply

Moff was starred Moff was unstarred

MsMuffinMcGuffin
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Geez, they have only been there for one day. Cut them a little slack here.
Reply

MsMuffinMcGuffin was starred MsMuffinMcGuffin was unstarred

Owen Thomas
01/21/09

@MsMuffinMcGuffin: Oh, gladly. But how to explain Whiston's ignorance, unless it was feigned? She has been working for the association since 1992, according to Nexis.
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

Private Hangnail
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Gawker isn't online gossip. It's a Cesspool Blog.
Reply

Private Hangnail was starred Private Hangnail was unstarred

mathnet
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
Don't name your daughter Julia.
Reply

mathnet was starred mathnet was unstarred

saythatscool
01/21/09

In reply to Who Runs the White House Pool Report?
It appears the tubes got crossed.
Reply

saythatscool was starred saythatscool was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

#politicsofrepresentation

Gawker

SUBSCRIBE TO Gawker

Who Runs the White House Pool Report?

20% Of N.Y.U. Students Would Rather Have An iPod Than A Vote

The Many Technicolor Faces Of Rudy Giuliani

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment