re: Here's a good explanation of the media being blocked from the gaggle

quote:

---

This has even a new and disturbing pattern in the media. A two bit outlet or a completely biased outlet like the nyt published an unsubstantiated hit piece, and the rest of the kept media reports on the report, hiding behind lingo like "unconfirmed by our sources" or "The New York Times reports". They keep their hands technically clean by not being the direct source. It's not on accident.

---

Exactly. They can basically report anything they want regardless of it's honesty by using a lesser outlet, such as Buzzfeed, to take the fall after they themselves sensationalize it with their unconfirmed but highly trusted "sources".


For the people claiming Trump not feeding propaganda machines such as these MSM outlets is a scary thing, think about how scary this is.

quote:

---

Like it or not, Trump is President and the office deserves respect regardless of who is in the office

---

Trump was the face of the birther movement. How was that showing respect regardless of who is in office?

Fox News reporting birtherism claims

Despite reporting of birtherism, Fox News was never banned from gaggles and had a first row chair in the briefing room.

As I said, it just makes Trump and Spicer look thin skinned.

quote:

---

You guys are ridiculous. Do you actually support theidea of a government attempting to stifle the press.

---

We don't have a press. We have a collection of political advocacy organizations.

Here's my issue with it. This didn't happen in a vacuum. There is context. And the context is the administration repeatedly and loudly trying to discredit news outlets which don't parrot the official party line.

If it were just that the administration was trying to rotate news outlets io n and out of these smaller meetings to give more outlets a chance at the more intimate briefings, then I would have no problem with it. The problem is that this isn't that. Thus is the administration overtly rewarding and punishing news outlets. That isn't what our republic is about.

Yes, it's all fun and games and great sport to mock "the snowflakes" and Their "melt". But when you take off the Trump blinders, there's no way to really defend this with a straight face.

quote:

---

And the context is the administration repeatedly and loudly trying to discredit news outlets which don't parrot the official party line.

---

I think this gives CNN too much credit. They aren't just "not parroting the official party line." They are willfully advancing stories they know to be unverified to advance their ideological agenda. That's indefensible.

Yes, Trump and his administration is punishing them. That's not as bad as CNN's lack of ethics, IMO. But it's a party foul. They didn't restrict their access to the news. Just to a press gathering to which there's no guarantee of an invite.

Great post. And all of these posters cheering this look particulary stupid for being so shortsighted. The next Democrat president will disallow these posters favorite news outlets from attending and they will have lost the right to complain.

So much about nothing. They were not invited in the past. CNN is just lashing out at Trump.