Washington, D.C.--An overwhelmingly left-leaning press has always found it difficult to maintain the sort of distance from a Democratic President required for objective news coverage. But media insiders say the relationship between the media and the President is becoming “more complicated than ever” now that the White House press corps shares Obama’s teleprompter.“When the media and the President share a common vision, it only makes sense that they share the same teleprompter feed,” said one media critic. “But we’ve seen too many instances where reporters and the President finish each other’s sentences.”
News producers admit that while being so close to the President makes it easier to make campaign donations, it does have its drawbacks.
For example, during a recent ABC News special that was broadcast from the White House and touted Obama’s health care plan, viewers watched as anchor Charlie Gibson uttered Obama’s trademark “uhm’s” and “er’s” while he and the President struggled to read from the same teleprompter screen. They eventually butted heads.
“It was an awkward moment,” said one studio technician. “It got even worse when Gibson seized the opportunity and gave the President a quick peck on the cheek.”
Media analysts acknowledged that a shared teleprompter raises some technical issues, but dismissed concerns based on journalism ethics.
“The media does its job when it reports the news accurately,” said one source. “And there’s no better way to ensure that’s done than by reading directly from the President’s teleprompter.”
Associated articles: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/31/AR2009053102079.html; http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=330306097960268; http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media-Bias-Is-Real-Finds-UCLA-6664.aspx; http://gawker.com/5311055/white-house-press-corps-spent-the-fourth-of-july-hanging-out-with-obama-off-the-record
