Dean's World

Austin Bay, an Iraq war vet and writer, and Jay Rosen, a journalism professor, have an interesting dialogue about the Bush White House's treatment of the press, and the press treatment of the war. The entire exchange is worth reading so I suggest you click the link and do so before digesting my comments.

Now: What I see here is Bay saying what the White House could do to repair its relations with the press, and what the press could do to repair its relations with half the country as well as the White House... and Rosen wanting to talk about why the current occupants of the White House are so bad.

It makes me shake my head and conclude that working journalists will not understand certain things until they are made to understand them. Half the country now views the working press with a range of negative emotions running from fundamental mistrust and contempt to outright hostility--and guys like Rosen appear to think the main problem is either with the people, or with politicians he just doesn't happen to like. Either way, it must just be some big misunderstanding, right?

When reading this, it finally occurred to me what is likely to happen in the future--if not this administration, then in a future administration. It may be a Democratic or it may be a Republican administration, but it won't matter. Things can't go on the way they are, and if they don't fundamentally change, I see some President finally putting his foot down and saying, "Enough. Fire that pack of jackals."

I don't mean put their publications out of business. I simply mean, the White House could begin to issue 90% of all statements either in printed form, straight to the internet, or through recorded form for delivery straight to the internet, television, or radio.

Press can be invited in perhaps once or twice a month, in groups of no more than a half-dozen or so, chosen by the White House--perhaps one for the television networks, one for foreign correspondents, one for the AP and Reuters... and that's it.

The administration (and once again, I'm not saying *this* administration necessarily, it could be *any* administration*) might even go out of its way to invite in only friendly reporters. But more likely they'd know that to be bad strategy, so they'd stick to names that are respected and are known to be even-tempered and, well, not morons or snotty punks, nor people who ask endlessly repetitive, parsing-every-word question-spitters.

Seriously: why should we continue anymore with that pack of correspondents who analyze every fart and sneeze of White House staff and parse sentences six ways from Sunday and ask sometimes just utterly idiotic questions? What purpose do they serve? It made sense when there were only three TV networks, and tons of local newspapers and radio shows. But today, we're global: there's no need for that many reporters--there just isn't one. We also don't need these "journalists"--most of them utterly clueless boobs--to explain and interpret and "contextualize" for us. The White House can release straight to the internet the materials it now sends out through the press briefings, with a lot less wasted time and verbage.

People may think I'm kidding or just being provocative, but I'm serious. The press has shown itself to be utterly contemptuous of the people, of the military, and of politicians it doesn't like. Screw it: fire 'em. They no longer serve a worthwhile role anyway. You don't need a reporter to tell you what the President said--you can read or listen to what the President said. You also don't need some editor to give you "context"--you're more than bright enough to pick that up for yourself.

And they most certainly are not the "voice of the people" or public servants or anything else of the sort. They're people who have a job that could be done perfectly adequately by anyone with the ability to pay attention, to ask probing questions, and the ability to write or speak in simple declarative sentences.

So why do we need that pack of jackals? For what, for whom, except for their own self-importance?

If this President doesn't do something like this, some other will in the future. Because it's clear that most of the working press simpy refuse to consider that there is anything fundamentally wrong with how their profession operates.

Simple solution: fire 'em.