Der große Roll-Back gegen die Presse im Weißen Haus

--- Jay Rosen hat ein sehr gutes Posting über die Rove-Affäre, die Kunst des Schweigens statt des Spinnings im Weißen Haus und die Bestrebungen der Bush-Regierung zur Degradierung der "vierten Gewalt" online. Aufhänger ist der Versuch von Korrespondenten bei einer Pressekonferenz am Montag, Bushs "Sprecher" (bessere wäre "Schweiger") Scott McClellan in die Mangel zu nehmen:

The immediate cause for Monday’s events, where the press finally held McClellan in contempt of country, was an old-fashioned breakdown in official credibility. It happened when statements from the podium were rendered inoperative by Michael Isikoff’s report for Newsweek, posted Sunday, July 10. The press attacks when it feels openly lied to. (Emphasis on “openly.”) Also when it senses weakness, which of course means it’s safer to attack. Dana Milbak spoke for most of the reporters when he said to McClellan: “It is now clear that 21 months ago, you were up at this podium saying something that we now know to be demonstratively false.” (See also David Corn.) The press secretary and the White House didn’t try to contest it, choosing silence until the prosecutor is done. Lying to the press—though a serious thing—is something all Administrations do. In Washington leaking to damage people’s credibility or wreck their arguments is routine, a bi-partisan game with thousands of knowing participants. I rarely see it mentioned that Joseph Wilson (who is no truthtelling hero) began his crusade by trying to leak his criticisms of the Bush White House, When that didn’t work he went public in an op-ed piece for the New York Times. But business as usual is not going to explain what happened in the Valerie Plame case, or tell us why its revelations matter. For that we need to enlarge the frame. My bigger picture starts with George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Andrew Card, Dan Bartlett, John Ashcroft plus a handful of other strategists and team players in the Bush White House, who have set a new course in press relations. (And Scott McClellan knows his job is to stay on that course, no matter what.) The Bush team’s methods are unlike the handling of the news media under prior presidents because their premises are so different. This White House doesn’t settle for managing the news—what used to be called “feeding the beast”—because it has a larger aim: to roll back the press as a player within the executive branch, to make it less important in running the White House and governing the country, but also less of a wild card in fighting enemies of the state in the permanent war on terror.

Unbedingt weiterlesen, abspeichern, ausdrucken.

Und sonst: Gesetze gegen Geld. Mit Milliarden kämpfen Lobbygruppen in den USA um Medieneinfluß. Jüngster Fall: Der Sitz im Supreme Court, Die Welt.