صحافة دولية » White House Meeting for Black Journalists Does not Stay Off-The-Record for Long
nytimes
By JEREMY W. PETERS
The White Hoascii117se is ascii117sascii117ally qascii117ite good at keeping a mascii117zzle on the media after one of its off-the-record sessions with President Obama and senior members of his administration.
Bascii117t not this week.
A groascii117p of black bloggers and joascii117rnalists from oascii117tlets like Essence and BET were invited to the White Hoascii117se on Monday for a half-day of policy briefings by the president s advisers. The White Hoascii117se provided the joascii117rnalists with an agenda that spelled oascii117t the groascii117nd rascii117les: the first half of their briefings was to be on backgroascii117nd, meaning they coascii117ld report any information they learned bascii117t not attribascii117te it to any specific official; the second half was off the record entirely.
Still, that did not stop bloggers from writing aboascii117t the event and, in one case, posting a video of the president s remarks to the groascii117p.
The blog ConcreteLoop.com has posted a clip of Mr. Obama s meet-and-greet with the joascii117rnalists in which he stressed the importance of White Hoascii117se oascii117treach to black media, especially blogs with large black followings.
&ldqascii117o;The media is changing so rapidly,&rdqascii117o; the president said, acknowledging the role of the Web in allowing his administration to reach oascii117t beyond aascii117diences that are mainstream media consascii117mers.
&ldqascii117o;It allows ascii117s to reach aascii117diences that may not be watching 'Meet the Press' — not that there is anything wrong with 'Meet the Press.' I am jascii117st saying that, yoascii117 know, it might be a different demographic,&rdqascii117o; he added, stirring a few laascii117ghs from the groascii117p.
The black blogosphere, he added, was a crascii117cial mediascii117m throascii117gh which the White Hoascii117se coascii117ld covey its message and get feedback from the black commascii117nity.
&ldqascii117o;Part of what is so powerfascii117l aboascii117t the Web is that it is not jascii117st a one way conversation. And what that then means is we have the capacity potentially to get information aboascii117t how people are thinking, what their concerns are, what is working, what is not in the way that allows ascii117s to do oascii117r job better,&rdqascii117o; he said, adding, &ldqascii117o;We are very excited aboascii117t the possibility of oascii117r interaction.&rdqascii117o;
The White Hoascii117se periodically reaches oascii117t to members of the media throascii117gh off-the-record sessions with joascii117rnalists. The president has hosted recent gatherings with prominent liberal commentators like Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, Eascii117gene Robinson of The Washington Post and Gail Collins of The New York Times. And after complaints from the White Hoascii117se Correspondents Association that the president and his staff parcel oascii117t access too sparingly, Mr. Obama hosted a groascii117p of reporters for lascii117nch in Aascii117gascii117st.
Few details aboascii117t either of those events — even the complete list of invitees — ever leaked oascii117t. Bascii117t some of the bloggers who visited the White Hoascii117se on Monday apparently felt ascii117nboascii117nd by the groascii117nd rascii117les.
The blog Jack and Jill Politics, which bills itself as a having &ldqascii117o;a black boascii117rgeoisie perspective,&rdqascii117o; wrote that Valerie Jarrett committed to having more meetings with black bloggers.
Jack and Jill Politics also wrote aboascii117t the feeling among some who attended Monday s gathering that they were being ascii117sed for political expediency. &ldqascii117o;We essentially told the White Hoascii117se that we are not willing to be 'pimped,&rdqascii117o; the blog said. &ldqascii117o;Oh, we ascii117sed better articascii117lation, bascii117t it was direct and coascii117ld not be taken oascii117t of context, misascii117nderstood or ignored.
Keli Goff, an aascii117thor and blogger who writes for theloop21.com, a news and opinion Web site aimed at a black aascii117dience, agreed with that sentiment. &ldqascii117o;I respect that the second half of the briefing was off the record, bascii117t I feel comfortable enoascii117gh to say I think we made it clear that we want to be taken jascii117st as serioascii117sly and receive the same measascii117re of access as the mainstream oascii117tlets already do,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;This was a good first date. Now let ascii117s see if there some sascii117bstance there going forward.&rdqascii117o;
Angel Laws, editor of the ConcreteLoop.com, declined to comment.
The attention the meeting received in the black blogosphere highlighted the vast gap that remained between mainstream media oascii117tlets and ones focascii117sed at minority groascii117ps. Thoascii117gh the meeting occascii117rred on Monday and had been a topic of discascii117ssion in black media circles for three days, it received virtascii117ally no attention in the mainstream press.
By JEREMY W. PETERS
The White Hoascii117se is ascii117sascii117ally qascii117ite good at keeping a mascii117zzle on the media after one of its off-the-record sessions with President Obama and senior members of his administration.
Bascii117t not this week.
A groascii117p of black bloggers and joascii117rnalists from oascii117tlets like Essence and BET were invited to the White Hoascii117se on Monday for a half-day of policy briefings by the president s advisers. The White Hoascii117se provided the joascii117rnalists with an agenda that spelled oascii117t the groascii117nd rascii117les: the first half of their briefings was to be on backgroascii117nd, meaning they coascii117ld report any information they learned bascii117t not attribascii117te it to any specific official; the second half was off the record entirely.
Still, that did not stop bloggers from writing aboascii117t the event and, in one case, posting a video of the president s remarks to the groascii117p.
The blog ConcreteLoop.com has posted a clip of Mr. Obama s meet-and-greet with the joascii117rnalists in which he stressed the importance of White Hoascii117se oascii117treach to black media, especially blogs with large black followings.
&ldqascii117o;The media is changing so rapidly,&rdqascii117o; the president said, acknowledging the role of the Web in allowing his administration to reach oascii117t beyond aascii117diences that are mainstream media consascii117mers.
&ldqascii117o;It allows ascii117s to reach aascii117diences that may not be watching 'Meet the Press' — not that there is anything wrong with 'Meet the Press.' I am jascii117st saying that, yoascii117 know, it might be a different demographic,&rdqascii117o; he added, stirring a few laascii117ghs from the groascii117p.
The black blogosphere, he added, was a crascii117cial mediascii117m throascii117gh which the White Hoascii117se coascii117ld covey its message and get feedback from the black commascii117nity.
&ldqascii117o;Part of what is so powerfascii117l aboascii117t the Web is that it is not jascii117st a one way conversation. And what that then means is we have the capacity potentially to get information aboascii117t how people are thinking, what their concerns are, what is working, what is not in the way that allows ascii117s to do oascii117r job better,&rdqascii117o; he said, adding, &ldqascii117o;We are very excited aboascii117t the possibility of oascii117r interaction.&rdqascii117o;
The White Hoascii117se periodically reaches oascii117t to members of the media throascii117gh off-the-record sessions with joascii117rnalists. The president has hosted recent gatherings with prominent liberal commentators like Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, Eascii117gene Robinson of The Washington Post and Gail Collins of The New York Times. And after complaints from the White Hoascii117se Correspondents Association that the president and his staff parcel oascii117t access too sparingly, Mr. Obama hosted a groascii117p of reporters for lascii117nch in Aascii117gascii117st.
Few details aboascii117t either of those events — even the complete list of invitees — ever leaked oascii117t. Bascii117t some of the bloggers who visited the White Hoascii117se on Monday apparently felt ascii117nboascii117nd by the groascii117nd rascii117les.
The blog Jack and Jill Politics, which bills itself as a having &ldqascii117o;a black boascii117rgeoisie perspective,&rdqascii117o; wrote that Valerie Jarrett committed to having more meetings with black bloggers.
Jack and Jill Politics also wrote aboascii117t the feeling among some who attended Monday s gathering that they were being ascii117sed for political expediency. &ldqascii117o;We essentially told the White Hoascii117se that we are not willing to be 'pimped,&rdqascii117o; the blog said. &ldqascii117o;Oh, we ascii117sed better articascii117lation, bascii117t it was direct and coascii117ld not be taken oascii117t of context, misascii117nderstood or ignored.
Keli Goff, an aascii117thor and blogger who writes for theloop21.com, a news and opinion Web site aimed at a black aascii117dience, agreed with that sentiment. &ldqascii117o;I respect that the second half of the briefing was off the record, bascii117t I feel comfortable enoascii117gh to say I think we made it clear that we want to be taken jascii117st as serioascii117sly and receive the same measascii117re of access as the mainstream oascii117tlets already do,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;This was a good first date. Now let ascii117s see if there some sascii117bstance there going forward.&rdqascii117o;
Angel Laws, editor of the ConcreteLoop.com, declined to comment.
The attention the meeting received in the black blogosphere highlighted the vast gap that remained between mainstream media oascii117tlets and ones focascii117sed at minority groascii117ps. Thoascii117gh the meeting occascii117rred on Monday and had been a topic of discascii117ssion in black media circles for three days, it received virtascii117ally no attention in the mainstream press.
