I will answer that one for you. Each one represents a major failing by the press to do their jobs, to fulfill their vital charge. Each episode is different, and each is an important part of this story.
To begin with, look at the striking photograph on the cover of the commemorative NBC News DVD. First of all, of course, they bought the whole "Operation Iraqi Freedom" line straight from the war's PR firm without question. Now look at the subtitle, "22 Historic Days." That is ever so telling, as if this "22-day" component was something defining rather than the initiation of chaos.
During these "historic days," the press was so thrilled to be "embedded," to be part of the story, that they forgot to cover the story. They forgot the old basic rules of journalism. Oh certainly, they could breathlessly give us the who, what and where, with dramatic footage amid sandstorms, night-vision goggles and fiery artillery rounds, but they forgot that other "w" from journalism school, the "WHY."
They never asked why we were there, why we were engaging in regime change, why we never found those elusive "WMDs." They never asked why a state structure had been toppled with nothing viable to replace it, and why the president claimed "Mission Accomplished." They never asked why we were supporting the establishment of a Shi'a republic or why a democratic government could be expected to succeed when it was highly unlikely that one of the basic elements of statehood, a fundamental transfer of loyalty from region, sect, tribe or ethnicity to the new regime, would ever take place. They simply never asked. Not only were they embedded, they were asleep.
What about Jeff Gannon? Of course the saga of a male prostitute becoming a fixture in White House briefings is a story unto itself, but it is much more than a juicy sex scandal. While we certainly can and should ask how an escort often found himself given the rare opportunity to question the president or his spokesman, we can't stop there. We have to ask why the other members of the White House press corps stood for it. Surely they must have known that this man was no journalist and that he was set up in the press room to lob hanging curveball questions. How about a little good old-fashioned reporting here?
But of course, they didn't, and they didn't because they were scared. They are scared of getting on the White House's bad side, of being cut off from access, of being sent to the gulag of network news to cover blizzards in Fargo. Well, folks, I am going to let you in on something. You are of more value covering blizzards rather than being an administration mouthpiece. If all you have the nerve to report is happy talkand recite the White House talking points to us, even though your hair looks great, then don't even bother. We can only wonder what else we missed if you were even too afraid to expose Jeff Gannon.
And finally, there is Judy. Judy represents so many things here, from a pervision of the 1st Amendment to reporters becoming the story rather than telling it to the media serving as the government's propaganda bureau. The Times fired Jayson Blair for his lack of journalistic integrity, while Judy gets an award.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect, though, is that the whole Valerie Plame affair shows that this administration had made up its mind to act in its interest rather than ours and would stop at nothing to keep the truth from us. How sad is it when a reporter for one of the country's great papers is a willing player in that plot.
Goodbye Woodward and Bernstein, hello Judy.
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