Thursday, November 8, 2018
Various journalist associations are absolutely right in saying that
President Trump should not have singled out Jim Acosta for abuse.
This is largely because White House news briefings routinely resemble \Mrs.
Grady's kindergarten class from when I was a kid with every journalist with
White House reporter acting out but each for a different reason
Acosta may simply be guilty of watching “his girl Friday” too many
times and come to assume journalists are supposed to act that way -- and so he
does.
Acosta like most real journalists do their best not to pay much
attention to critics and so block out such things as Don Henley's song “Dirty
Laundry” which depicts how real journalists behave.
This is particularly true of White House correspondents, who also avoid
looking into mirrors or coming out after dawn.
Journalist at the White House briefings,
however, come with an assortment of character types just as the kids in
kindergarten do -- such as a spoiled rich kid from an Ivy League school who has
been told so often and for so long how special he or she is that he or she
actually believes it and goes into a huff when the president doesn't
acknowledge it to.
Then there are some who come because their parents made them (substitute
editor for Mom or Dad) and would rather be back at the office lounging stealing
their copy from The Washington Post while sipping lattes.
There are those who the president never calls for a question, those
know-it-alls we all knew in school who like the girl from Harry Potter have all
the answers for everything (and likely do since they to read The Washington
Post.)
This group usually whines until the press secretary feel sorry for them
and then they do what all true journalists do -- savage the president using
some bit of misinformation they got from some questionable inside source who
has a personal grudge with the president over a lack of promotion or raise.
Some reporters simply get miffed when they do ask a question and can't
find a way to humiliate the president from the answer they get.
Yet for the most part the press corps is so out of control, hopping up
and down like a pack of spoiled brats, you have to think they learned this
behavior from some Elite journalism School.
As it turns out we recently discovered a training manual specifically
designed for Washington White House correspondents with clear rules of behavior
and suggested approaches to journalism.
The number one rule if you're
not from “The Washington Post” act arrogant and entitled as if you are or read
up on the spin The Post has so you can fit in.
Don't take no for an answer. If the president doesn't give you an
answer you can use to humiliate him, hound him until he does and as a last
resort publish your account as if he had.
Abuse is the primary tool of every journalist and they must use it when
addressing the president. Treat him like a dog but be worried that he might
kick you like a dog when you do.
Try to fit in with other reporters so as to best resemble a pack of
wolves or sharks sensing blood in the water.
Never admit a mistake unless you get caught -- then pretend like the
president said something different from what he actually said.
And avoid at all costs publishing a correction the White House can use
as proof of your journalistic bias.
At all costs never agree with the president on anything even if he
agrees with something you have already reported. Claim he is lying and cannot
be believed.
Decorum is a must and so try to act like a journalist which means you
scream and yell tantrum-like even when the president has given you what you
need or want.
Always dispute any report from Fox or right-wing media calling such
reports racist sexist or worse.
Examine anything that the president says so it can be interpreted to
make him look like a racist or a bigot even when it is clearly not what he
intended.
If words can have two meanings and one looks racist, always interpret
it as the president being racist when he says it.
Never portrayed the president as humane or if you are forced to, make
it appear as if he is merely doing this for political purposes.
Remember as a White House correspondent, you represent the elite of the
elite in journalism and so become a role model for all other journalists
everywhere who are trying to become the elite of the elite. So, you must act
appropriately so as to send a message to media worldwide as just how they ought
to behave and how they should treat the president.