White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Attorney General Refuses To Rule Out Jailing Journalists

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By U.S. Customs and Border Protection (160120-H-NI589-0103) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

During a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated he could not make a “blanket commitment” against jailing journalists for reporting the news.

In response to a question posed from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asking him to pledge not to put “reporters in jail for doing their jobs,” the Attorney General responded:

“Well, I don’t know that I can make a blanket commitment to that effect.  But I will say this, we have not taken any aggressive action against the media at this point.”

Sen. Klobuchar commented that the president’s recent tweets suggesting the administration could look into revoking broadcast licenses for networks prompted her to ask the Attorney General for clarification.

“We always try to find an alternative way, as you probably know, Sen. Klobuchar, to directly confronting media persons.  But that’s not a total blanket protection,” Sessions told the committee.

 

Judge Dismisses Russian Billionaire’s Libel Lawsuit Against AP

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Photo courtesy Michael Wuertenberg via Wikipedia.

A libel suit against the Associated Press by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was dismissed by a federal judge Tuesday.

In a 21-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said Deripaska’s lawsuit over a March story about his business relationship with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had “cherry-picked” statements from the story that he wrongly claimed were defamatory.

“Deripaska has cherry-picked sentences and strung them together to give the AP’s article an effect it does not have when read in full,” the judge wrote. “But whole context is how courts determine whether there is defamation.”

Huvelle wrote that the lawsuit failed to show the AP story was written with disregard for the truth or published maliciously, a legal standard Deripaska would have to meet for the case to move forward.  Instead, the suit complained that the story ignored background information Deripaska considered critical.

“As the AP points out,” Huvelle wrote in her decision, “this simply is not enough to make out a plausible case of actual malice.”

The story in question reported on how Manafort had proposed a business strategy to Deripaska a decade ago, supporting pro-Russian political parties and influencing politics and news coverage in the United States and Europe.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Deripaska cannot file it in court again.

 

White House Reporters: “Thank God We Have His Tweets”

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Four notable journalists talked about the positives and negatives of covering the current White House during a wide-ranging panel discussion at SVA Theater during the annual New Yorker Festival.

Titled “All the President’s Reporters,” New York Times’ Jo Becker, CNN’s Carl Bernstein, The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer and Washington Post’s Greg Miller talked about the unique aspects covering Donald Trump’s presidency.

His habit of engaging in tweet-storms several times a week was noted as an important pathway to understand the president’s thoughts on issues of the day.

“Thank God we have his tweets,” said Carl Bernstein.  “It’s like a road map to the mind of Donald Trump.”

Greg Miller agreed, calling the president’s tweets “footage” recording the turbulent first period of the administration.

Jo Becker brought up the divisions across different media organizations, with the landscape starkly different from outlet to outlet that things can play out as dramatically and surprisingly as the 2016 campaign coverage showed.  She pointed out much of today’s discourse happens within media outlets, in stark difference to Bernstein’s coverage of Watergate, where CBS News’ Walter Cronkite would laud the reporting of the Washington Post in its coverage, putting the issue on the national agenda.

“It would be [MSNBC’s] Rachel Maddow preaching to the converted, and then Fox News would go after you and Bob [Woodward],” Becker made the point to Bernstein.

Jane Mayer emphasized her belief that regardless of stonewalling and “fake news,” the truth always comes out eventually.

“The truth comes out.  It sometimes takes a while, but it comes out.  There’s a strong public-service streak that people in public office have when they see power being abused.”

Following the panel discussion, questions turned to the division between media outlets and the hyper-partisan viewpoint of readers.  “I have my friends from school and I have my friends from Washington,” Miller said while describing growing up in a remote California town of 500 residents.  “My school friends all think I’m fake news.  They didn’t think I was fake in 5th grade but now I do.”

Bernstein wrapped up the panel noting that individuals no longer tune into national news broadcasts nightly, but rely on outlets portraying a specific political viewpoint with which they agree.  “We’re losing a large part of the country [which ignores mainstream media].  And I don’t think they’re coming back.”

New York Times Establishes Social Media Guidelines for Journalists

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

The New York Times issued guidelines for its reporters on their social media accounts, including warnings to “not to express partisan opinions” or “promote political views.”

Executive director Dean Baquet wrote in a memo that “[i]n social media posts, our journalists must not express partisan opinions, promote political views, endorse candidates, make offensive comments or do anything else that undercuts The Times’ journalistic reputation.”

“We consider all social media activity by our journalists to come under this policy. While you may think that your Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram, Snapchat or other social media accounts are private zones, separate from your role at The Times, in fact everything we post or ‘like’ online is to some degree public. And everything we do in public is likely to be associated with The Times,” the memo warns.

The memo follows a panel discussion at George Washington University where Baquet said his journalists need to be consistent in their comments on social media.

“I feel pretty strongly that New York Times journalists should not be able to say anything on social media that they cannot say either in the pages or in any of the platforms of The New York Times.”

The memo also includes guidelines for reporters to be transparent and open about errors in their reporting, and to reflect “a diverse collection of viewpoints” to avoid looking like any side is preferred in public discussions, especially in retweeting other people’s comments and thoughts.

Bob Schieffer: Trump’s Attacks On Media Undermine “Foundations” of Democracy

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media

Legendary CBS News journalist Bob Schieffer appeared on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday, suggesting that President Trump’s attacks on the media and journalists are “undermining the foundations of our democracy.”

While Schieffer said he doesn’t give much credibility to Trump’s frequent criticisms about the media on Twitter, he did say that:

“What I do take seriously is when he tries to destroy the credibility of the media.  An independent press that can gather information that people can compare to the government’s versions of events – that is what we do.”

Prompted by host Brian Stelter on the president’s remarks, Schieffer explained that:

“It is as crucial to our democracy as the right to vote.  And when people try to undermine that, I think they are undermining the foundations of our democracy.”

During the past week, President Trump suggested on Twitter the FCC should review the broadcast licenses of “distorted and fake” networks, especially NBC.  He also said to reporters during an Oval Office meeting with the Canadian prime minister that it is “disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write.”

Indiana State Lawmaker Proposes Legislation Requiring Journalists to Register With Police

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Indiana State Capitol. Photo courtesy Pixabay.

A state lawmaker in Indiana has proposed legislation requiring state police to license professional journalists.

Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican from the city of  Seymour in the southern region of the state, has been critical of press coverage of his efforts to repeal laws requiring a permit to carry a handgun.  He claims the media has frequently mischaracterized his proposal in news stories, editorials and columns.

“If I was as irresponsible with my handgun as the media has been with their keyboard, I’d probably be in jail,” Lucas stated.  “Why wouldn’t I push for it? If one constitutional right is OK to license, then they all are.”

The bill to license journalists, which Lucas claims is designed to grab attention instead of seriously be considered, is nearly identical to Indiana’s law requiring a license to carry a handgun.  The proposal would require professional journalists to register with state police.  They would be fingerprinted and pay a $75 fee for a lifetime license.  Applicants with a prior felony conviction could have their application rejected.

Andrew Seaman, chairman of ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists, notes that the First Amendment is not without restrictions.

“The truth is that there are already a number of restrictions on the First Amendment.  We have libel laws, copyright laws and countelss others that rein in the speech and press rights under the First Amendment.”

Lucas’ bill to license media in Indiana is one of many efforts to seek publicity on social issues.  In December, he posted on Facebook an image of a woman in a car trunk with the title: “Wanna know who loves you more your wife or your dog? Lock them both in your trunk and see who’s happy to see you when let them out (sic).”

And in June, Lucas posted a letter he wrote to a reporter at the IndyStar advocating arming women, suggesting they learn “how not to be a victim.”

The post was condemned by advocates of domestic violence, prompting Lucas to issue an apology.

AXIOS’S MIKE ALLEN Wins the Facebook Booking War: Lands Sheryl Sandberg

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Mike Allen, Tammy Haddad and Daniel Lippman. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Mike Allen scored one of the most significant interviews of the cycle, announcing this morning Axios will host a series of exclusive interviews with notable influencers at Facebook.  Starting the series this Thursday, Allen will talk with COO Sheryl Sandberg.  You can watch the interview on Axios’ Facebook page or Axios.com.

Throughout the series, Axios editors and reporters will delve into important aspects and dimensions with the social media giant — including technology, politics, economics and privacy.  Axios notes it will strive to focus on the collision of these topics, and will control both the questions asked and the coverage itself.

Interviews will be on-the-record, and available on Axios’s Facebook page as a Facebook Live video, as well as on Axios’ website itself.  Facebook will also make the interviews reachable through their Hard Questions blog, which explores areas facing their global community.

NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Most Watched Sunday Morning News Show

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NBC International Information Bureau. Photo courtesy Jeff Maurone via Flickr.

NBC News’ Meet the Press with Chuck Todd was the most-watched Sunday morning political and public affairs show throughout the past year.

According to the media site Adweek, the NBC news program averaged 3.66 million viewers for the season, besting second-place CBS’s Face the Nation at 3.62 million total viewers and third place ABC’s This Week at 3.23 million viewers.  Fox News Sunday received 1.54 million viewers, while data for Univision’s Al Punto was unavailable.

“I’d like to think viewers believe we are producing a show that’s less stuffy, more approachable, more relevant and intelligent,” show host Chuck Todd said. “I also think the efforts we have made to expand our footprint beyond Sunday mornings — in the forms of a weekday MSNBC show, a podcast and a film festival this November — have helped create more urgency and relevancy to our Sunday morning edition.”

Meet the Press is the longest-running show in the history of television, celebrating its 70th anniversary in November with a documentary film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute.

Washington Post Names Steven Ginsberg as New National Editor

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Steven Ginsberg has been named the new national editor at The Washington Post.

The Post welcomed Ginsberg into his new role by announcing that:

“For the past six years, Steven has brought a combination of zeal and Zen to the leadership of our national political report, inspiring reporters and editors to deliver fast-paced, creative and revelatory work.  A master of recruiting, retention and the morale-boosting chat, he has built the politics team into the powerhouse it has become, delivering peerless coverage of the 2016 race and the early months of the Trump presidency.”

He steps into the national editor role after former editor Scott Wilson left the position earlier this month.  He left “after disputes with his superiors over newsroom resources for his coverage areas,” sources said.

Ginsberg has worked at The Washington Post since 1994, when he joined the paper as a nightside copy aide.  He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

White House Lawyer Overheard Discussing Russia Probe at Restaurant in DC

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Ty Cobb, a top attorney on President Donald Trump’s legal defense team, was overheard by reporters at a prominent Washington, DC steakhouse discussing White House strategy dealing with special prosecutor Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian influence.

Cobb was brought in to oversee the White House’s legal and media response into the Russia probe last July, and was talking openly at BLT Steak with Washington lawyer John Dowd, who has experience in high-profile political cases.  Cobb and Dowd were sitting next to New York Times reporter Ken Vogel, who could clearly hear the conversation.

“The friction escalated in recent days after Mr. Cobb was overheard by a reporter for The New York Times discussing the dispute during a lunchtime conversation at a popular Washington steakhouse. Mr. Cobb was heard talking about a White House lawyer he deemed ‘a McGahn spy’ and saying Mr. McGahn had ‘a couple documents locked in a safe’ that he seemed to suggest he wanted access to,” reported the New York Times.

White House chief of staff John F. Kelly “erupted” and reprimanded Cobb for his indiscretion of discussing sensitive matters loudly in public, according to several people contacted by the New York Times following the incident.

“If you’re sitting, talking with someone at dinner, you need to be careful,” said Rep. Chris Collins, when asked on CNN about public officials audibly discussing official business in a public venue.