David Gregory shows why he's the perfect replacement for Tim Russert

[laststeamtrain]

Glenn Greenwald
Monday Dec. 29, 2008 08:07 EST
David Gregory shows why he's the perfect replacement for Tim Russert

Several months before he was named as moderator of Meet the Press, David Gregory went on MSNBC to categorically reject Scott McClellan's accusations that the American media failed to scrutinize the Bush administration's pre-war claims. Gregory vigorously praised the job which he and his "journalistic" colleagues did in the run-up to the Iraq War -- the period which Salon's Gary Kamiya called "one of the greatest collapses in the history of the American media." Proclaimed Gregory, with a straight face: "Questions were asked. I think we pushed. I think we prodded. I think we challenged the President. Not only those of us in the White House Press Corps did that, but others in the media landscape did that." Most revealingly of all, Gregory said:

"I think there are a lot of critics who think that . . . . if we did not stand up and say this is bogus, and you're a liar, and why are you doing this, that we didn't do our job. I respectfully disagree. It's not our role."

Indeed. Perish the thought that a reporter should point out when government officials are making "bogus" claims and are lying a country into a war. That is "not their role," says the New Tim Russert (and, unsurprisingly, the Old Tim Russert wholeheartedly agreed). I don't know whether Gregory's public advocacy for a meek and polite press corps that would never be so rude as to point out when government leaders are lying is what sealed the deal for his new promotion to Meet the Press -- a show which centrally depends on having powerful politicians know that they can come on and, as Dick Cheney's top communications aide put it, "control the message." But I'm quite sure that it didn't hurt...http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/29/gregory/index.html

[alsame]

1. What coverage of the run up to the war? As I recall, the 'news'

channels were too busy covering every detail of the Laci Peterson/Scott Peterson/Amber Frey story to bother with annoying things like being lied into a war.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

13. DISNEY HAS IT RIGHT... JUST ENTERTAINMENT

AND MAKE A TON OF MONEY

[Wednesdays]

18. There was a TON of coverage during the run-up to the war, silly

You know...lots of salivating and cheerleading and stuff like that. :spank:

[Kahuna]

25. Hey! First things first!

:shrug:

[DS1]

2. Russert sucked

I did not understand the slobber-fest that went on here after he gave up the ghost.

He was a useful partisan hack for the RW. He should have never been allowed to moderate debates, not that he was much worse than the rest of the clowns.

[Phred42]

3. Agree - "integrity is for losers"

[underpants]

4. Russert validated the conventional wisdom

and he also reminded them of what they all agree on the night before as they wake up from yet another failed attempt to cleanse their souls with alcohol

[Dennis Donovan]

8. In 2002, Russert had Cheney on one week and Daschle on the next...

...and a topic for both was whether or not there should be a "9/11 commission".

Cheney was queried and, of course, his opinion was that such a commission would take resources away from "the War on Terror." Russert did not challenge it in any way - no "devil's advocate," nothing.

Daschle was queried on the same topic and his opinion was that, because 9/11 was such a catastrophic event and much could be learned from it, a commission was "imperative" for the national security of the country. Russert ARGUED with him for nearly 5 minutes, parroting every point Cheney made the previous Sunday.

Although I'd had my suspicions before, the back-to-back performances solidified my opinion of Russert that he was far from fair. If only I had the ability to capture TV back then. To put the two together in one clip would show anyone who felt warm and fuzzy about Russert when he died that he was NO journalist!

[peacetalksforall]

28. It's not just about getting invited back - it all starts and ends with the pact

between the owners of the networks and the Republican Party. Ruseert only followed what his producer ordered and the producer what the VP ordered and the VP what the P ordered right up the line to Jack Welsh and his successor - who are the ones who said yes to the Republican Party and the Barons and some are the Barons.

Daschle was part of the illusion of letting people think that NBC is still a news network. They are all propaganda mechanisms. Even Maddow and Olberman are illustions. They're allowed in for profit, viewer counts, and illusion. Nothing more.

[Dennis Donovan]

30. They became illusions when the news divisions were ordered by Corporate to produce profits...

...Years ago, the news divisions of the Big Three networks enjoyed a large degree of autonomy from the larger network corporations (and were allowed to report almost anything they wanted - Murrow proved that when he took on McCarthy). That all ended with the advent of CNN, the 24 hour news cycle, and media conglomerate control and consolidation.

People talk about the Fairness Doctrine as if it's a panacea for regaining fairness and objectivity in the national news media. What we REALLY need is to break up the conglomerates and their stranglehold on OUR free press.

[democrank]

5. Gregory is just the latest

in a long line of Don`t-Rock-The-Boaters. They know that asking probing questions can lead to their access being limited. Can`t have that....who would dance with Karl Rove?

[ClarkUSA]

6. Mary Matalin said Tim Russert was the softball interviewer Cheney should go to sell his WMD lies

I will never watch MTP again. Didn't watch it this Sunday even though David Axelrod was on, either.

[Kahuna]

10. True but, the last time cheney was on with TIM, Tim rendered to him

a grand shellacking to make up for all those softballs. It was a thing of beauty to behold. Tim went out in style.

[ClarkUSA]

20. Too little, too late; Tim was doing it to salvage his reputation after the embarrassing Libby trial.

Where was that "journalistic integrity" for the prior five years? Only Mary Matalin, his good buddy (their families were tight) knows.

[Kahuna]

29. Yep. You have a point. Still, he did leave cheney smarting.

:)

[spooky3]

32. yes, but the timing is important

Re: the final interview with Cheney:

a) it's too late to make a difference and
b) it's easy to kick someone who has extremely low popularity ratings and is on his way out of office. The point is that journalists need to push the powerful to be honest.

[SpiralHawk]

7. what a corporate homelander brown-noser Gregory has turned out to be...

...a boon for Republicon Homelanders, a pox upon America and Americans.

[ShortnFiery]

9. No matter how much the media whores cheer for each other, they are still *vile* ...

Gregory is one of the smarmiest of the bunch but the vast majority of M$M "journalists" prostitute themselves to their Corporate Masters at every given opportunity. :thumbsdown: :puke:

[PearliePoo2]

11. Oh give me a freakin' break.......

:mad:
Gregory and the rest of the spineless press corps cowered and stared at their shoes while openly being mocked and ridiculed by the SmirkInChief. "Smirk" has derogatory (frat-boy) names for any and all of them.
"Stretch" is Gregory's. Like that one much David? Feeling a whole lot of respect coming your way?


Gregory quote, "I think we pushed. I think we prodded. I think we challenged the President."

:rofl:

[gratuitous]

21. Sure they pushed, yeah they prodded, of course they challenged

Just please, please, please don't have the bad taste to ask for any, you know, examples of when the media ran down this administration's pack of lies and pinned them to the ground, demanding an answer. Because the next time any of them does that, it will be the first time.

[Jim Sagle]

39. I think they sucked him off 24x7. And they're still doing it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. We need to send Gregory pie crusts, rich cheese, ice cream, Twizzlers

and about a two years supply of hamburger meat.

[Dennis Donovan]

14. ...and nicotine patches labeled "Viagra" with instructions to apply several at once...

:evilgrin:

[n2doc]

26. Puff Pastry

My mom had a story about an acquaintance of hers who went through several marriages by feeding her husbands rich deserts until they keeled over....

[The Backlash Cometh]

34. I think that's what me ole mum use to call, "Killing him with kindness."

Actually, she never said it. I made it up.

[babylonsister]

15. I fervently wish Gregory would get thousands and thousands of

e-mails with this article as the subject. He might get a clue. At worst, he might consider what he says and why he's saying it.

[spanone]

16. gregory wouldn't recognize journalism if it bit him on the ass

[Atman]

17. Come on, David...defend your network's coverage of the anti-war marches in DC

Not that ABC or CBS did any better. To this day, in any "Bush Years in Review" segment, has ANYONE heard mention of the largest anti-war march in Washington history? Nope. Just ignore it, it'll be like it never happened.

Gregory is a first-class suck-up, just like Russert was. But I'm still a bit surprised we have this discussion, as it is so well known that NBC is wholly-owned by major defense contractor, GE. It simply is not in GE's best interest to expose the truth about the war. It will cut into their bottom line.

One of my "Make A Wish" moments for the Obama administration would be the break-up of the grossly unfair, anti-American business arrangement wherein the major players in the selling of war and death world-wide are also the ones who broadcast the "news" to us. GE should be forced, legally if necessary, to divest itself of NBC. I know it will never happen. But it should.

.

[Dennis Donovan]

23. I'm reminded of a watershed moment early in my DU membership...

It was February, 2003, and the massive anti-Iraq invasion march was taking place in NYC. I had the TV playing in the background and CNN was broadcasting from it live (I think the correspondent for CNN was Maria Hinojosa, IIRC). A thread was started by someone (I remember who it was, but I won't say for fear of it being a call-out, however this person had proven in the past to be associated with CNN - an insider) saying that the "word came down to stop the coverage of it". Suddenly, within a minute, the march coverage stopped.

I know this isn't related to NBC News directly, but it does show how the WH leaned on anyone showing dissent to the War during the run-up.

I wish I could search the pre-7/2003 archives to find this particular thread...

[annabanana]

37. boy howdy am I ever with you on THAT wish. . .

[Atman]

38. Thanks for the pics

Gets my blood boiling all over again.

.

[HillWilliam]

19. As piss-poor an entertainment program as MTP was when

Russert was on, it went through the basement with Dances with Roves. The Science Channel has my attention on Sunday mornings. It'll certainly never be M$M again. Gregory never was a journalist, never will be, and has zero business taking up air-time. He's gotta be somebody's bottom.

[PearliePoo2]

24. OMG! ...............HillWilliam wrote:

"Dances with Roves." "He's gotta be somebody's bottom."

!!!!!!.....:rofl: ......!!!!!!!!

LMAO so loud..... my dog came running in to check it out!
:rofl:

[HillWilliam]

33. (Innocent expression)

Just calls 'em as I sees 'em

:evilgrin:

[LSK]

22. how many times did he interview Scott Ritter in 2003?????

Or any of those folks who COMPLETELY DISARMED SADDAM IN THE 90S????

:shrug:

[greenman3610]

27. Russert was a piece of shit who knew exactly where his bread was buttered

[spooky3]

31. Katie Couric's questions of Palin were tougher than these.

And as Couric pointed out later, she didn't consider her questions tough at all.

[annabanana]

36. They only seemed tough because Palin was such a pathetic choice.

Any half baked genuine candidate could have fielded those questions without breaking a sweat.

[pacalo]

35. It's not "Meet the PRESS" like its original intent. It's more like "Meet the Corporate Whore".

I remember the run-up to the Iraq invasion well. The American press & media were joined at the hip with the WH talking points -- I never saw such cheerleading for a president, much less an illegal venture, before by those who are supposed to be looking out for the people.

Thank God the Brits were involved because their press didn't let Tony Blair off the hook so easily. It was their news outlets who told it like it was. The Guardian was almost the sole beacon of truth back then.

I stopped watching "Meet the Press" a long time ago, but to hear David Gregory throw mud at the wall to see how much sticks in regard to obvious lies makes me want to throw up. We're not stupid.