April 21, 2010
White House tries to co-opt press corps
In an effort to shut down leaks from inside the Administration, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, according to The Hill:
approached White House reporters earlier this year in an attempt to end the long-standing practice of sourcing claims to anonymous administration officials, he told CNN on Sunday.Of course, whistleblowers who might want to report wrongdoing to the press corps would be off limits. Very convenient.During that meeting with the press corps, Gibbs offered correspondents a no-background policy, in which the White House would only give on-the-record interviews if reporters promised not to cite unnamed sources, he explained to host Howard Kurtz in an interview on "Reliable Sources."
"I think we could all put what we want to say to the American people and to the news media all on the record," he said. "I've offered to end it. But it's got to be a two-way street."
It's no wonder the reporters rejected this one way deal.
Hat Tip: Ed Lasky