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Jon Stewart Wonders Why White House Reporters Put Up With Being Shoved In A Closet

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by Tommy Christopher | 11:09 am, March 29th, 2011

» 27 comments

On Monday night’s Daily Show, host Jon Stewart devoted a segment to the pool reporter who was restricted to a storage closet during portions of a fundraising event attended by Vice President Joe Biden. Admirably eschewing an obvious R. Kelly joke, Stewart instead did a “live” bit with a handcuffed Wyatt Cenac, and asked him an excellent question: why do White House reporters put up with the press office’s onerous restrictions? It’s a question I’ve tried to answer before, but Cenac may be onto something.

While the closet episode is certainly an attention-getter, Stewart astutely observes the larger problem, that restricting press access to White House events is standard procedure. A handcuffed, boiler room-bound Cenac explains that reporters are just freaky-deaky gluttons for punishment:

While I don’t think we’re a bunch of kinky masochists, maybe we are gluttons for punishment, to some degree, or at least content to fight for the scraps that the press office tosses our way. Since I’ve been covering the White House beat, there has been a constant drumbeat questioning our relevance, and indeed, our reason to exist. As Ann Compton recently observed, the White House seems only too pleased to replace us any chance they get. Yet when given the chance to confront the White House about “tensions” that developed over the course of the administration’s first year, the White House Correspondents Association focused on protecting the canned access we already have, and on denying access to Richard Wolffe.

With White House events so tightly managed, Stewart is also right to ask why reporters even bother to show up. Obviously, pool reporters are required to do so, but the fact is, for many open press events, a lot of reporters don’t bother to go. For something like a bill signing in the East Room, we’re all packed in like sardines on either side of the seating area, often half-an-hour or longer before the President actually makes his remarks, unable to sit or go anywhere, forbidden to speak with attendees. We then get to see exactly the same thing we’d see on C-Span, then have to wait for an escort back to the briefing room. In the time I’ve covered the White House, fewer and fewer reporters attend such events.

Part of the problem is that the actual White House is not the kind of place where you want to push boundaries. I’ve wandered into various red zones in the past, and they’re not kidding around about keeping you where you’re supposed to be.

But, really, the biggest problem facing the White House press corps is a lack of leverage. In the past, the White House needed the press, to some degree, to get their message out, but not so much anymore. So far, they haven’t paid much of a political price for their tight management of the press, probably because media-bashing has become so popular on both sides of the political spectrum. When, how, or if this will change is anybody’s guess.

Ann Compton, Bill Nelson, daily show, Joe Biden, Locked In Closet, Orlando Sentinel, R. Kelly, Richard Wolffe, The Daily Show, WHCA, White House Correspondents Association, Wyatt Cenac

Robert Stephenson Hearts Mark Schultz

The answer is simple. Biden had something to hide. It’s the whole “transparency” thing.
notsofast

If they are lib reporters, they probably don’t want to come out of their closets.
RichS

Can’t wait to see BFD tap dancing again!
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-beck-explains-how-the-unions-are-using-teachers-firefighters-and-co ImNotBlue

Anyone want to bet that as soon as a Republican gets back in office, the frustrations of the WH reporters “come to a boil,” and they start to complain more loudly. I’m sure stories like this one (the real one, that is) would be front page stuff under a Republican… but barely mentioned otherwise (did Mediaite do a story before Jon told them they had to?).
tatboy

Tommy… you make an R. Kelly reference and you can squeeze in a Tom Cruz “Trapped in the Closet” joke??? Come on… that one writes itself.
Barack Must Go

One moron in a closet, does not the White House press corp make. Is the Daily Show actually thought of by anyone as funny?
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-beck-explains-how-the-unions-are-using-teachers-firefighters-and-co ImNotBlue

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155133/r-kelly-sings-with-tc-jt
Davo

ImNotBlue said:
Anyone want to bet that as soon as a Republican gets back in office, the frustrations of the WH reporters “come to a boil,” and they start to complain more loudly. I’m sure stories like this one (the real one, that is) would be front page stuff under a Republican… but barely mentioned otherwise (did Mediaite do a story before Jon told them they had to?).

Gotta remember that behaving like fascist gestapo is normal for the Marxist and media coalition. We’ve learned from the past that rape, perjury, kidnapping, and even murder are OK as long as it’s a Democrat doing it. Just don’t let the gestapo catch a Conservative getting a parking ticket.
tatboy

Does anybody remember Bill Clinton’s staff taking Rush Limbaugh’s camera from one of his reporters when he had a TV show? There was even video (please post if someone knows where to find it). The only one to report this was… Rush Limbaigh. No one else’s camera was taken and it was removed by force. Funny how the press is “flexible” with it’s outrage about this kind of stuff.

P.S. I’m no fan of Rush. But wrong is wrong.
Jackie_Treehorn

Barack Must Go said:
Is the Daily Show actually thought of by anyone as funny?

Yes intelligent people. So absolutely no surprise you find it unfunny….
tatboy

Jackie_Treehorn said:
Yes intelligent people. So absolutely no surprise you find it unfunny….

Until you perform an IQ test on all of them you are just flat out lying and making $hit up.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tucker-Peterson/721293033 Tucker Peterson

I guess Jon could have said he hadn’t seen his Butt wound . But he did ….I love honesty .
RichS

Isn’t it also interesting that the story changed from a reporter being held in a closet with a guard standing outside to a reporter being asked to wait in a small green room. Now I’m absolutely sure that VP Biden’s staff didn’t go to the reporter afterwards and tell him that if he wanted any more access to the VP the reporter had better backup the manufactured “green room” hand waving. Nah, VP Biden would never do that or those guys he has coffe with every morning, at the diner that closed 15 years ago, would kid him about it.
Paul G

Can you imagine if Cheney had done this?
Tommy Christopher writes:
“So far, they haven’t paid much of a political price for their tight management of the press, probably because media-bashing has become so popular on both sides of the political spectrum. When, how, or if this will change is anybody’s guess.”
Really? This is what you honestly think? “probably because media-bashing has become so popular on both sides..” Outside of FNC, when has the left bashed the media? This stupid reporter even said it was no big deal.
The LSM is so contorted right now, if this administration whipped all the lefts asses with their own computers, they’d say “Thank you, may I have another?
They haven’t paid a political price, BECAUSE THEY ARE SO FAR UP O’s AZZ THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW THEY’RE BEING USED AND ABUSED!
tatboy

Paul G said:
Can you imagine if Cheney had done this?
Tommy Christopher writes:
“So far, they haven’t paid much of a political price for their tight management of the press, probably because media-bashing has become so popular on both sides of the political spectrum. When, how, or if this will change is anybody’s guess.”
Really? This is what you honestly think? “probably because media-bashing has become so popular on both sides..” Outside of FNC, when has the left bashed the media? This stupid reporter even said it was no big deal.
The LSM is so contorted right now, if this administration whipped all the lefts asses with their own computers, they’d say “Thank you, may I have another?
They haven’t paid a political price, BECAUSE THEY ARE SO FAR UP O’s AZZ THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW THEY’RE BEING USED AND ABUSED!

I have to agree that the Bush/Cheney administration would have “paid much of a political price for their tight management of the press” had THEY held a reporter in a closet in a mansion owned by a gaziillionaire. My Gawd .. it plays into every liberal MSM stereotype. It would have been at least a 2 week story with all kinds of “Special Comments” by Olbermann, Moore, Sharpton etc who would have been brought in by the MSM to provide “context”.
Alric_IV

notsofast said:
If they are lib reporters, they probably don’t want to come out of their closets.

Well, it keeps them out of airport bathrooms.
OxyCon

You have two choices. Continue to allow yourselves to be played by Obama, or decide to make yourselves relevant again buy not playing by Obama’s rules. Demand greater access or refuse to show up at his teleprompter recitals if if doesn’t take more than 5 questions. Obama is setting the rules to make you guys irrelevant because he wants total control over the media and is afraid he might stumble in a moment of candor and reveal his true self, and you’re all willingly playing along because, imo, most of you are big time supporters.
Alric_IV

tatboy said:
I have to agree that the Bush/Cheney administration would have “paid much of a political price for their tight management of the press” had THEY held a reporter in a closet in a mansion owned by a gaziillionaire. My Gawd .. it plays into every liberal MSM stereotype. It would have been at least a 2 week story with all kinds of “Special Comments” by Olbermann, Moore, Sharpton etc who would have been brought in by the MSM to provide “context”.

Hey, dippy, it’s getting coverage, and it’s getting the same type of coverage Bush would have gotten. Do keep in mind that Bush had his little press shenanigans, too. What you have to realize is that that reporter could have left that closet at anytime. He just wasn’t allowed to mingle with the guests.
slickerwick

Biden only allowed the reporter to listen to the speech, not mingle with the guests. Yup, don’t want any reporters hearing the bribes and pay-to-play going on at these rich f***’s fundraisers. This is the transparency that was promised?
tatboy

Alric_IV said:
Hey, dippy, it’s getting coverage, and it’s getting the same type of coverage Bush would have gotten. Do keep in mind that Bush had his little press shenanigans, too. What you have to realize is that that reporter could have left that closet at anytime. He just wasn’t allowed to mingle with the guests.

Hay, dippy, it’s not getting that much coverage. If you really believe the press would not be playing this up WAY more if it were Bush/Cheney there is no help for you. And I fail to realize nothing, which is why I used the word “held” not held captive or jailed or restrained or any other word involving physical kidnap. Learn to read. Are you seriously arguing that Cheney holding a reporter in a closet in a mansion DOESN’T play into a liberal MSM stereotype?
RichS

Alric_IV said:
Hey, dippy, it’s getting coverage, and it’s getting the same type of coverage Bush would have gotten. Do keep in mind that Bush had his little press shenanigans, too. What you have to realize is that that reporter could have left that closet at anytime. He just wasn’t allowed to mingle with the guests.

Yeah, he could have left that closet anytime, yeah, that’s the story will go with but we have to pretend that guy wasn’t standing in front of the door guarding it and we only kept him in there because, um, …., oh, we’ll think of something later cause this press corps won’t ask up any hard questions about this.
BarneyFranken

RichS said:
Can’t wait to see BFD tap dancing again!

He wont touch this one. Go find him on the next Glenn Beck or Palin post- he’ll be first for those.
http://www.sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ sarainitaly

sounds like you guys need an union to protect reporters from the big bad *boss*.
JJ Vachon

At least the White House sin’t trying to manipulate the media…;)
BruinAlum77

Davo said:
Gotta remember that behaving like fascist gestapo is normal for the Marxist and media coalition. We’ve learned from the past that rape, perjury, kidnapping, and even murder are OK as long as it’s a Democrat doing it. Just don’t let the gestapo catch a Conservative getting a parking ticket.

Just absolute bat sh*t crazy. No sense in even having a discussion with someone so clearly disturbed.

tatboy said:
Until you perform an IQ test on all of them you are just flat out lying and making $hit up.

This must make your head explode, unless you prefer lying and making sh*t up.

Bill O’Reilly’s viewers are actually less educated than Stewart’s:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6117542/ns/today-entertainment/

Viewers of Jon Stewart’s show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch “The O’Reilly Factor,” according to Nielsen Media Research.

‘Daily Show’ viewers ace political quiz:
http://articles.cnn.com/2004-09-28/entertainment/comedy.politics_1_viewers-o-reilly-quiz?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

In a recent survey, viewers of Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central tested better than Letterman and Leno viewers on a six-question politics quiz.

RichS said:
Isn’t it also interesting that the story changed from a reporter being held in a closet with a guard standing outside to a reporter being asked to wait in a small green room.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/state/os-reporter-locked-closet-biden-032811,0,3083752.story

“I went in willingly, with the understanding that I was free to leave — but if I left I’d probably have to leave the house entirely, and not get to cover the speeches… They offered me food, which I declined, and brought me a bottle of water… So I talked to Joe, and he posted a decent account on Drudge. I thought that would end it, but it only opened flood gates, from other media.”

If the reporter talks about what really happened, why can’t you trolls just let this idiotic story die?
eddielin2011

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RichS

BruinAlum77 said:
Just absolute bat sh*t crazy. No sense in even having a discussion with someone so clearly disturbed. This must make your head explode, unless you prefer lying and making sh*t up. Bill O’Reilly’s viewers are actually less educated than Stewart’s:http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6117542/ns/today-entertainment/ Viewers of Jon Stewart’s show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch “The O’Reilly Factor,” according to Nielsen Media Research. ‘Daily Show’ viewers ace political quiz:http://articles.cnn.com/2004-09-28/entertainment/comedy.politics_1_viewers-o-reilly-quiz?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ In a recent survey, viewers of Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central tested better than Letterman and Leno viewers on a six-question politics quiz. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/state/os-reporter-locked-closet-biden-032811,0,3083752.story “I went in willingly, with the understanding that I was free to leave — but if I left I’d probably have to leave the house entirely, and not get to cover the speeches… They offered me food, which I declined, and brought me a bottle of water… So I talked to Joe, and he posted a decent account on Drudge. I thought that would end it, but it only opened flood gates, from other media.” If the reporter talks about what really happened, why can’t you trolls just let this idiotic story die?

Gee, it seems Vice President Biden has covered all of his bases. I’m sure a reporter who was pressured into staying in a closet by the VP’s people could never be pressured to change his story about being pressured into staying in a closet. Could never happen.