Jay Rosen has a humorous post at Press Think called Stop Us Before We're Briefed Again:
The headline at Romenesko caught my eye. "D.C. bureau chiefs: No more background-only WH briefings." Wow, I thought, they finally did it. They quit the racket. But no. They had not. They had sent an e-mail around, and asked Scott McClellan to change his ways. They had vowed to object some more, later. Joe Strupp's account in Editor and Publisher tells of it:
In an e-mail to several dozen bureau chiefs Monday, a group of top D.C. bureau bosses urged their colleagues to push more for on-the-record briefings when government officials deem them to be on background only.
"We'd like to make a more concerted effort among the media during the month of May to raise objections as soon as background briefings are scheduled by any government official, whether at the White House, other executive agencies or the Hill," the e-mail said, in part.
Conspicuous for going unmentioned was one of the most effective ways the press can "raise objections" to background briefings: don't go to them. Just quit.
Apparently White House reporters are irresistibly drawn to these background-only briefings like Marion Barry to crack parties with whores and have asked Scott McClellan to cease and desist with these briefings because the reporters just can't control themselves. Perhaps instead of looking to McClellan for the solution they should turn inward, admit they have a problem, and take the first step to recovery.
1. We admitted that we were powerless over background-only White House briefings -- that our lives had become unmanageable.
A good place to start.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Oh oh. This could be a tough one for a lot of reporters.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
The G word? Houston, we definitely have a problem.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
For some of the White House reporters, this is like taking an inventory of a sewage treatment plant.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
If they need any help with the wrongs, I'll there for them.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
All the defects of character? That's a tall order, even for the Man Upstairs.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Again, I can help with that list.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
1. The American people...
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Ari Fleischer is waiting by his phone. Patiently.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
That will be the day.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to reporters, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.
You know, on second thought, maybe it is easier just to get McClellan to stop the briefings.
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