Some White House reporters have been the target of criticism from their peers this past week based on their performance at President Bush’s March 7 press conference. The criticism intrigued me because I saw only a few moments of the press conference. I came in just as George Condon of Copley News Service, who covers the White House for The San Diego Union-Tribune, was called upon by the president.
Critics said the press conference was scripted, that reporters knew ahead of time they were going to be called upon for questions. It gave me pause. Would reporters cooperate with a source to that extent? Would they submit their questions to the president ahead of time? That’s not how an independent press operates. I don’t know of any legitimate reporters who would allow themselves to be used in that way. Was I being incredibly naive?
While it was obvious that Bush had a list he consulted before calling on reporters, that’s as far as the scripting went. Reporters, including Condon, stopped raising their hands when it became obvious that the president had determined ahead of time who was going to be recognized. In fact, the president made no secret of it.
“The fact is that no reporter knew he or she was going to be called on once you got past the obligatory first two questions (the Associated Press and Reuters),” Condon said. “For the most part, the usual suspects were called on the networks and The New York Times. For some reason, this president never calls on The Washington Post. And it was, I believe, the first time that Helen Thomas was not called on. She no longer automatically gets a question since she is no longer with a wire service. But it’s also no secret that there is no love between Helen and this president.
“As far as being on the list goes, I was more surprised than anybody, particularly so because the White House was clearly displeased at my story earlier in the week concerning possible American unhappiness with Mexico if that country votes against the U.S. view in the (United Nations) Security Council.
“Not only had I not been informed that I would be getting a question, I was joking with other reporters beforehand that I saw no possible way I would be called upon.
“I have been very surprised that so many critics believe the questions were also pre-secreened and cleared by the White House. In 21 years of covering the White House, I have never met a reporter who would permit his or her questions to be cleared by the White House. And that didn’t happen this time.”
Condon said he didn’t decide on his question about North Korea until he was actually called upon. “I consider the situation in North Korea to be of great consequence, and when the president did not fully answer a question on the crisis there I decided to take a second crack at it by asking a follow-up question.”
In Condon’s view, a more deserved criticism would have been to take the news media to task for not asking questions about domestic issues, of which there are many.
Had he been able to predict that the president would not answer his question about whether North Korea should be prevented from developing nuclear weapons, Condon said he would have asked a question about gasoline prices.
“As far as the president’s scripting of who would be called upon, I was surprised. Every president has some idea of the reporters he wants to call on at the beginning of a press conference. But that usually does not extend beyond the fourth or fifth questioner. So, this was something new.
“I also challenge the notion that Bush called upon reporters who have been sympathetic to his views,” Condon said. Of those called on, he said, “AP and Reuters are wire services; The New York Times has been very critical; the networks have not been favorable; CBS radio doesn’t have a view; Urban Radio has not been friendly to his agenda, and I’ve already told you they were unhappy with Copley. The only organizations called upon that are consistently favorable are Fox News, The Washington Times and The Wall Street Journal.” Condon said The Wall Street Journal, whose reporter asked the final question, didn’t seem to be on the list. “It looked like he winged it on the last choice,” Condon said.
Bush, Condon said, has a “terrible” record when it comes to holding press conferences. “No president has come close to holding so few press conferences.”
Why was criticism of the White House press corps so pointed? Condon’s take is that people have strong feelings about the administration’s policy on Iraq and the possible war. “They want to see their strong feelings reflected in the questions,” Condon said.
When Bill Clinton was president, it was the conservatives who were unhappy with the White House press corps. “Today, it’s the liberals and the Democrats because the press doesn’t stop the war with their questions,” he said.
“Partisans on issues are never going to be happy,” Condon concluded.
Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
