Who Elected This President?

It turns out, the American media may have played a part in electing Barack Obama as President of the United States. A new national poll conducted by Sacred Heart University has been released on "Trust and Satisfaction with the National News Media." It's posted here and shows that 89.3% of those surveyed believe that the national media played a "very strong or somewhat strong role" in helping elect President Obama.

The University's Polling Institute surveyed 800 Americans nationwide between Sept. 8-11, and covered news subjects from 2003 and 2007. The poll is the third of its kind, and reveals current American attitudes on the fairness, reliability, and influence of news media.

This can not be news to those of us who actually work in the national media. We were there. If we are honest, we acknowledge our part in it. He was younger, sexier (it's a TV term, folks) and we wanted to do stories about the popular team.

So what are we doing now? We apparently haven't stopped.

Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed said the national news media are intent on promoting the Obama presidency. Only 26.5% disagreed and said something to the effect of "oh, those news media people aren't doing that!"

Yeah. Right. I don't often say "perception is reality" but have you ever seen an industry where that particular statement seemed more appropo?

But here's the part that ought to scare the folks at the top of four (maybe more?) very big news organizations: when asked which news source they trusted the most, the highest percentage of respondents chose Fox News. Oh, now don't get your shorts in a wad. Fox only rated a 30% share.

And oddly enough, when asked who they trusted the least, the same group (but presumably a different section) also chose Fox News.

About a quarter of those surveyed (24.3%) said they believe all or most of what is reported, 54% believe some, and 20.4% believe little or none.

"It is sad, when we find that only 55.9% say they expect the media to tell them the truth today. This perception of bias will eventually catch up with the news media outlets - we found 45.9% have permanently stopped watching a news media organization, print or electronic, because of perceived bias." Jerry C. Lindsley, director of the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute

Catch up with news media outlets? Like as in falling ratings? Dropping ad revenues? Fewer advertisements? Less attention to every little thing that we say?

Hmmmm, you think?

"Fresh Veggies! Get Your Vegetables Here!"

Stop me before I get annoyed at naivete, er, I mean "change" in action again.

Mr. "Change," our rookie-year President, has said that he'd like to see a farmer's market set up outside the White House.

"One of the things we're trying to figure out is, can we get a little farmers market set up outside the White House. That is a win-win situation. It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue maker for local farmers in the area."

Okay first and foremost, DC doesn't have a shortage of farmers' markets. There are somewhere between 50 and 70 (you try counting all these tiny little markers) between the southern most tip of Washington Metro area and Pennsylvania's state line. That map doesn't take into account the numbers of little sort of jitney roadside stands and actual farm locations where one can buy fresh produce.

Second, since the most likely position would be either the blocked off block at 1600 Pennsylvania (or the open Washington Mall area in what is technically the front of the White House), has our President considered the seemingly universally acknowledged favorite device of large-scale destruction known as the car bomb? How does he imagine those vegetables are going to get in to fill the tents and stalls that he wants put up? In his vast experience as an American, has he never seen a farm truck roll up? Perhaps he should consider that not all bushels of corn (or potatos) are what they seem.

Third, consider also this statement:

"Getting local farmers connected to school districts: That would benefit the farmers delivering fresh produce. Right now they don’t have the distribution mechanism set up."

Let me just submit that perhaps delivering the vegetables to the area near the White House is perhaps not the best point of destination. Since we only know of two little girls who are in need of vegetables (and theirs aren't sourced on a street-corner) perhaps this is an ill-conceived idea that President Obama has popped off the top of his head.

Er, another one.

"Wee-weed The People"

Wee-weed? Wee-weed? The President of the United States said wee-weed? I'm having a Beavis and Butthead moment, which I think it's entirely appropriate. Here's what President Barack Obama said, according to the Washington Post.

"There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up," President Obama remarked Thursday as he tried to rally support for health-care reform. "I don't know what it is, but that's what happens."

At least he admits that he doesn't know that is, but what on earth is the President talking about?

There is a phenomenon in Washington where everyone involved in government, running the city, and basically well, everyone who lives and works in or around the Beltway gives themselves the entire month of August off.

(Anyone left in the office, by common consent, plays on Facebook.com all day, takes two hour lunch breaks, and pursues an online degree with the University of Phoenix. You have no idea how many MBA's are created this way.)

Off. You know. Vamanos. Off. Why? Well, it's tradition borne of necessity. Washington, DC was built on a swamp; the heat, humidity and mosquitoes all reach critical mass in August so the President, the Supreme Court, Members of Congress all pack up and leave. The kids are going back to school in a few weeks, so everyone who has seniority takes advantage and goes on vacation. (It seems President Obama is hip to this tradition. He's already gone to Martha's Vineyard with Michelle and the girls. Can you imagine seeing the above... and 6 guys in dark suits talking into their hands coming up the beach at you?)

In the month of August, by general consensus, no work gets done, none of the nation's business is moved forward, nothing gets accomplished in the District of Columbia. The city is a ghost-town. (Which in my business means... thank heavens celebrities are dying on the West Coast! Whew! Relief!)

But wee-weed? Yeeeeeaaaahhh, no, we don't know that term here in the District of Columbia.

In fact, it reminds me of an old Steve Martin comedy riff from the 1970's on his "Let's Get Small" (or was it Ramblin' Man?) album, in which Martin said it would be hilarious to teach your kids to speak using the wrong words. You know, if you used the wrong words every day of their first few formative years, think how screwed up they would be on the first day of kindergarten when they needed to be excused to use the bathroom.

"Hey mon, hamma ney banana pants gondaga go summa cum laude pe-pe?"

Maybe somewhere in the first formative 100 days of his Presidency, President Obama heard vacation referred to in terms of getting wee-weed? It does give one pause, doesn't it?

(Imagine what will happen when those "Birthers" start holding meetings with the "Make English the Official Language" guys. Hahaha! "Ohhhhhh Lou??")

Play Ball!

President Barack Obama has issued an apology.

"I'm sorry," he said. What's this about, you might ask?

Poorly planned and ineffectively carried out stimulus?

A Latino Supreme Court pick who has a history of making racially inflammatory comments?

A health care proposal that could finally bankrupt the nation while at the same time run doctors out of business with lawsuits?

Um, no. No. And no.
Mr. Obama stands accused of wearing "Mom jeans" when he threw out the ceremonial opening pitch of the Major League Baseball All-Star game in St. Louis. A definite fashion faux pas.

Here are the pictures. I tried to choose photos that made clear the, er, problem. As you can see, President Obama showed up for the game dressed casually in a pair of jeans and light jacket. The Leader of the Free World, who is known for cutting a lean, athletic and fit figure in almost any ensemble, looks confident and happy as he approaches the mound. Well, it seems the fashion critics were thinking, we'll see about that.

They must have shaken and hung their heads at the very idea that President Barack Obama should confidently and with a smile approach the mound in such an unfashionable state. The very idea that he should enjoy the activity so inappropriately, unfashionably attired. Yes, the man was about to throw out a ball, which many believe to be an exercise in extreme concentration, requiring focused attention, skill, athleticism and energy. But for heavens' sake, pick up that foot fashionably and make sure that the leg it is attached to is wearing jeans with the latest cut.

Ahem, I was hoping that this recession had us headed for a little fashionista accord. I was hoping it positioned us for a little stylistic detente, if you will, where we didn't attack each other for our fashion choices because some of us have more important things to do even as others of us have too little money to chase after the fashion of the moment.

When asked about the jeans, President Obama said they were simply comfortable. He also said, "For people who want a president to look great in tight jeans, I'm sorry."

It seems much ado about a subject of absolutely no substance.

Let the man have a little fun without criticizing him for the stupid stuff. Yes, he is the President of the United States. But isn't he also just a person? Can't we all remember as a child, thinking about what such a moment would be like for us? How ridiculous is it to criticize over this?

Besides, as any woman can tell you, those aren't "Mom Jeans."

Mom Jeans would cinch up high enough that there would be no chance of ever seeing that grin.

President Swats Fly. Dog bites Man. Bus Hits Car. Fire Burns House... (blah blah blah...)

I'm not sure what to make of today's news out of CNN. Well, that's not true. I know exactly what to make of it.

The headline tells it all: (President) Obama Kills a Fly. The video is posted here on Youtube.com. Go watch and then come back. (I'm not going to explain it, because you can watch it more effectively than I can dissect it.)

You're back? Okay, so what's next? How about...

President Opens Door for Wife, perhaps?
President Eats Dinner with Napkin, maybe?
Barack Obama Smiles at Senate Leaders. Or my favorite:
President Obama Interrupts Interview to Wash Hands.

The President is an intelligent, well-educated, well-spoken man. But I assume even he is laughing at the fawning of the media at this moment. He swats a fly and kills it in one swipe and THAT makes national news?

I bet he's dying to get that reporter on the basketball court right now. Imagine the news that would make.

James Garfield, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, William McKinley and...

Above is a list that does not need to expand. Those are the names of American Presidents who were assassinated while in office.

A classified advertisement in the Times Observer in quaint, quiet, and lovely Warren, Pennsylvania has now been withdrawn after law enforcement officials noted that it seemed to be calling for the assassination of President Barack Obama.

The ad linked the names of the four Presidents killed in office, and seemed to suggest the wish that President Obama meet the same end. The Times Observer has now taken the classified down, apologized (http://timesobserver.com/page/content.detail/id/517161.html?nav=5006) and turned over the identity of the person placing the ad to local and federal authorities.

Hey, I'm not so keen on a lot of things Mr. Obama does. And I think that the Secret Service will have their hands full protecting this particular President because of his historic significance as the first African American President of the United States. But even running an advertisement alluding to a hope for his demise is something to take seriously.

Threatening a sitting President is against the law, under United States Code, Title 18, Part One, Chapter 41, Section 871, which states:

Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

I'd bet that "conveyance in the mail" includes newspapers. The classified ad in the Times Observer ran only for a short time before it was noticed. In an era when newspapers seem to be losing ground, it's repugnant that someone used one of the branches of the media to make their stand.

Is This A Reporter?

This may be a little "inside ball game" for those of you who aren't in the media. For those of us watching the demise of our once-noble profession, today offered up an example of everything that we warned and watched against. So this blog briefly examines this example of what happens now that anyone with a laptop and some brassiness in approaching a media outlet can now hang a "press" tag on the brim of a cap and head out for a news event. The results are something that was only a matter of time and actually, it could have been worse.

A "reporter" was removed from near Air Force One today in Los Angeles, after she seemed a little too forceful in her efforts to give President Barack Obama a letter she had written.

According to various reports, the woman, Brenda Lee, said she had a letter for the President and asked a Secret Service officer to give it to Mr. Obama. He refused, referring her to a White House staffer. She refused to give the letter to the staffer so apparently, after refusing to leave quietly, she was carried out by her hands and feet.

Ms. Lee claims to be a reporter for a Macon, Georgia newspaper. She claimed that she has White House Press credentials. She is a resident of Anaheim, California. Lee also says she's a "Roman Catholic Priestess."

I wonder if Ms. Lee may be a case of a "citizen journalist" thinking she has gotten into the sky-box and can now call the game to benefit the home team. She may be a little confused by the dizzying height that she perceives herself to have attained.

White House Press credentials, as those of us who have had them now and in the past can attest, are different things than just "access for an event." White House Press credentialing requires filling out forms, being photographed and fingerprinted, and then giving the Secret Service months to look into who you are and the life that you've lived. It's not granted easily to anyone who doesn't require it. Usually, such credentials aren't extended to people who live in California, based on the fact that they don't need such access because they don't frequent the White House Press Briefing Room.

Access for an event is likely what Ms. Lee was granted by the Secret Service.

Reporting for a Macon, Georgia newspaper such as the Georgia Informer is very possible. Ms. Lee is published and some of her writings appear on the monthly newspaper's website. She is probably a "stringer," who has sold some of her writings to the small media outlet which, like all media outlets, is struggling to keep itself in the game and afloat.

That's one of the ugly realities of modern journalism.

As for the letter that she had written, Brenda Lee says she wrote a letter opposing gay marriage. She says she's a Roman Catholic Priestess. She said her black dress was in fact a cassock, the garment of a Catholic priest. I am not Catholic, so I don't ever claim to be an authority on that religion. (Nor do I claim to be an authority on my own religion. I've got my learners' permit there and that's enough for me.) But since the Catholic religion doesn't ordain women as priests, I am skeptical of the idea that she represents that faith.

But let me also point out this: an actual journalist wouldn't have tried to hand something to President Obama. A professional journalist would realize that anything he or she had to say could be said where we would say everything else: in the media outlet. Anything I have to say to Barack Obama is said on the air or in writing.

We're in an era where we have to look closer than ever to see who the legitimate journalists are. Just as a polaroid digital camera and access to Adobe Photoshop doesn't make someone a photographer, picking up a notebook, taking a few notes and writing a couple hundred words doesn't make you a writer... much less a reporter.

We now have newspapers being published in places like Pasadena, but written half-way around the world by "reporters" in Jakarta. People are listening to talkers like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Bill Maher and confusing these pundits with reporters.

Sometimes this new era has produced great results. We've seen cell phone video of news events that would otherwise never have been seen. People are witnessing things and coming forward more ready to describe what they've seen than ever before.

But it also results in pictures of women being carried out of press areas by their hands and feet. And it's likely to produce more and more of these bad outcomes for awhile, until all of this shakes out. It's guaranteed to make those of us who are professional reporters cringe a bit.

I saw a quote from Morley Safer of CBS "60 Minutes" last week. He said that he "would trust citizen journalism about as much as (he) would trust citizen surgery." That's about right.

Late Night Money Talking

President Barack Obama will be on the "Tonight Show" starting in just a couple of hours now. It's a landmark appearance for our history-making President: never before has a sitting President gone on a late night television talk show.

So I guess he wants to reassure the American people that he's got the right cards on the table in dealing with the economy.

But... are we, now that the Rocky Mountain News has closed its doors and the Seattle Post Intelligencer has gone all digital... are we really the generation of people that want to get our news from late night talk shows?

We all saw in the last election that sometimes, the fake news shows on Comedy Central seemed to have higher credibility (and their viewers tested higher in actual knowledge about issues and events) than regular newscasts. But is this really how we want to be approached?

I find it a little unsettling myself. I realize that the LA Times is all but dead. And that the Washington Post is remaking itself in a digitized flurry of news. And that maybe even the Grey Lady, the Grande Dame herself, the New York Times is reworking the business model.

But when you read the articles that are being hurriedly typed up and posted on the web, do you notice that sometimes the words seem jumbled? Sometimes the sentences don't make sense? Is it maybe because those the reporters we trusted for decades are shaking their heads and walking away with their pink slips. And the less expensive new help that is willing to work for less and understands the digital age is taking over, but... the fresh-out-of-college enthusiasm doesn't cover bad writing, poor spelling and sloppy sentence structure?

I recall a few years ago walking through a Washington local television newsroom and one of the producers saying to me, "Does the news director know you're in town and available? Hurry and go by his office to say hello." And a photographer watching the "newbie" reporter being mentored by the news director and muttering, "I don't want to be with her if a plane goes down at National."

I don't want to be reading some of these web-reporters when something big happens, like maybe the economy going down. And I realize that Leno isn't new to the business, but... he also isn't from news.