"Left-Wing Activist Poses as Reporter At White House Press Briefings"

Where, indeed, is the outrage?

WASHINGTON -- Accuracy in Media charged today that a liberal activist and associate of Ralph Nader has been obtaining access to White House press briefings while claiming to be a legitimate news reporter.

Russell Mokhiber, who sells a $795 a year newsletter that bashes corporations, attends the briefings to make obscure anti-Bush political points. Recently, for example, he asked spokesman Scott McClellan whether President Bush violated one of the Ten Commandments by invading Iraq. Mokhiber, who told AIM that he has never taken a journalism class in his life and was denied a permanent White House press pass, posts his ludicrous questions and answers on a far-left web site under the title "Scottie & Me."

Other Mokhiber topics have included industrial hemp, Israel's 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, possible war crimes charges against Bush, and Halliburton...

Now, logically, those same bloggers who scalped Jeff Gannon should be opposed to Mokhiber as well, no?

Yeah, I thought that was pretty funny too.

For instance, from 12/07/04, here's our own ODub's "Reporter Asks Actual Question":

A decent one from the crowd of lemmings in the WH press gaggle... [...quotes from Mokhiber's question at the link...]

Now, let's flashforward a few months to "Jeff Gannon is Gone..."

Details here. Where's Scotty McClellan gonna go for his softballs now?

[leaves a comment:]

To compare Helen Thomas to Gannon is laughable. She may be a kook, but she's no shill. As far as outing goes, when someone supports an anti-gay administration, I think that if they happen to be gay themselves it has some bearing on the issue at hand. In other words, if the GOP quit gaybashing, sexuality wouldn't be an issue.

Oh the hypocrisy.

Maybe we should ask MediaMatters if they're going to protest Mokhiber's appearances at press conferences. See "What is Talon News, and why does it have press credentials?"

And, see E&P's "'Gannon' Fodder: Real White House Reporters Weigh In":

...Several White House reporters told E&P they are concerned that Gannon's ability to get into briefings, and even ask President Bush a question two weeks ago, suggests that it may be too easy for reporters to gain admission to the James S. Brady Briefing Room despite being from a purely partisan or bogus news organization...

But Herman, who has covered the White House on and off since 2001, said there are a number of reporters who show up from news organizations he's never heard of or offer questions as partisan as Gannon's, although in their cases, mostly likely, they are working under their real names. "There are times in that briefing room where I am hard-pressed to tell you who they are working for or who sees their reporting," Herman said...

...Several reporters pointed to Russell Mokhiber, editor of Corporate Crime Reporter, who has been attending press events through a daily press pass for several years. Some say he is as partisan as Gannon in his questions, but often with a left-leaning approach. One reporter called him "the ideological flip-side of Gannon..."

Comments

Why would anyone who calls himself a conservative defend the Bush regime? Proponents of Wilsonian internationalism, advocates of amnesty for Illegal aliens, subscribers to the PC/Multicult dogma, supporters of the Soc Dem welfare state, and big spenders extraordinaire(until very recently, but we have to wait and see how this shakes out): what is conservative about these people?

Hey wacko! Russell Mokhiber has been a journalist since the 1980s. Jeff Gannon has been a "journalist" since...2003.

Yesterday it was revealed that Gannon was attending press conferences before talonnews was launched - he had NO affiliation with any news organization.

Pretty strange that a prostitute gets to sit in on White House press conferences.

The central problem with Gannon has never been bias - the question he asked about "soup lines" caught people's attention because it was so absurd, and shows he couldn't even follow a Limbaugh monologue.

The question is how did he get in there, even before he had a website, using a fake name, making his living as a prostitute. Asking softball questions was obviously part of the deal he made to get in.

There are many different components to this story and how people approach it. If someone complains about Gannon because they don't like biased WH reporters, then they should complain about Mokhiber too. Mokhiber has one of the component problems others see in Gannon: bias.

So, those who complain about Gannon should either drop bias from their list of complaints or complain about Mokhiber as well. If not, they're hypocrites.

Sorry, the comparison is not apropos at all...

Mokhiber is an accomplished journalist who has written articles for a wide range of publications, both in the online and print realm. He has authored books too and he is not tied to a political party. Gannon/Guckert OTOH lifted material that he published in his very short & recent "press" career from GOP activist GOPUSA site.

A quick goole of Mokhiber tells me he has written two books (still in print after six years), has dozens of online articles on hundreds of websites. 31,000 hits, and very few duplicates.

A lefty, yes. A Gannon, no.

Gannon had a webpage for five days, so far as I'm aware no published articles, was using a fake name, had a large tax judgment against him, and a simple background check would have revealed he was a gay prostitute.

Yeah, he's just like the prominent movement lefty who has had two books in print for six years...no different.

And eh, ask the Bush Administration why it matters who asks the questions, and I'm sure they'll explain their screening process for town hall forums.

"has never taken a journalism class in his life"

This is pretty funny. So what? Check out the reality of how Mary Bono got into Congress.

Hypocrisy or not aside, why does it matter who is asking the questions? And what their 'credentials' are?