Photogs Slam White House Use of Staged Pictures

[sabra]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001920440

Photogs Slam White House Use of Staged Pictures

NEW YORK-- White House photographers aren't looking for a handout these days. In fact, they've gotten far too many.

While the practice of providing news organizations with staged photos of events involving the president goes back decades, veteran shooters at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue say it has become almost a regular occurrence with the Bush Administration. A review of Associated Press archives found that during the entire eight years of the Clinton administration, only 100 handout photos of events were released to the press. During the first five years of Bush's presidency, more than 500 have been distributed.

The key is that each of these events were closed to news photographers.

"They average about two per week," said Susan Walsh, an AP photojournalist and president of the White House News Photographers Association, after directing that review. "The White House staff photographer's role is to document the president. They have now crossed the line and become public relations photographers for the administration."

She added: "I don't know the rationale behind it, but there are events that could clearly include press coverage. The problem with the releases is that they are often of events that could accommodate press coverage and that previous administrations had allowed press to cover."

[dddem]

1. this entire adminstration is staged.

Are we living "Wag the Dog"?

[liberal N proud]

6. We the people are getting slapped in the face by the tail of that dog.

A presidency so secretive that it can't even let the press see normal events.


WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY HIDING FROM US?

[jody]

13. Are we living "Wag the Dog"? YES! n/t

[Wwagsthedog]

17. You called? nt

[rodeodance]

2. k and recommend

[rodeodance]

4. the WH propaganda slush fund at work

[rodeodance]

5. aka---your tax $$

[ET Awful]

3. Because, they couldn't get those lovely Bush with a halo pictures if they

let the press take all the photos.

[dweller]

8. butbutbut...they make him look so purty

dp

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. Plus they give us photoshoppers

so much great material to work with.

[druidity33]

16. heh heh...

looks like he's wearin a big ol fluffy skirt... tee hee... it suits him.

[DrRang]

22. Ever notice how, if foreign leaders are taller than Bush

it's always a seated photo? And seated photos always show bush looking straight at the camera with his legs straddled, and the foreign leader is always looking at bush, which automatically puts bush in the alpha position.

[leftchick]

7. call it what it is... PROPAGANDA!

every other country recognizes the US has it.

[54anickel]

29. Big question for the presstitutes

Why are these getting covered as if the press WERE present? WH Press Releases should be sub-titled with just that statement, in bold. Instead the presstitutes take a WH press release, change some of the wording and pass it off as their own work. Lazy, complacent SOBS.

[ClintonTyree]

9. It's the only access they're given.........

King George will not allow pictures or interviews that haven't been given the Imperial stamp of approval. In every case it must be a controlled and staged operation or there will be no coverage. Period.

The White House photo-journalists as well as print and TV journalists should boycott the White House until they are given unfettered access.

What a disgrace this man is to our country, an utter embarrassment along with being an abject failure.

[DemonFighterLives]

12. Did everyone get their handout?

Must not have impromptu photos.

What always seems funny to me is when he is "meeting" with a foreign leader, he almost has to grab their hand to do the handshake photo thingy.
Since I'm training a pup right now, I could tell him it is easier if he hands them a treat.
:rofl:

[louis-t]

25. Can you imagine how many MORE photos

of the dumbass with really stupid looks on his face would surface if they weren't controlling output?

[LizW]

11. NOW they're complaining about this??????

Like they just figured out what was going on????

Jeez Louise! As if they didn't know that the White House was trying to control EVERYTHING the public sees and hears about Bush, down to the last detail.

We've been talking about this for YEARS.

[gratuitous]

18. Yeah, did they just notice this?

Or are they finally getting tired of their role as courtiers to the imperial president? Thanks for your bulldog vigilance there, Fourth Estate. Getting all the important news out to the public unless it might jeopardize your invitations to the swellest parties.

[Historic NY]

14. Perhaps if they stopped using the handout photos........

the W.H. would get a clue. They should shred tham and return them to Scotty. Everything they do is staged or controlled in one form or another. Perhaps one day people will realized how misled they really were.

[loyalsister]

15. This is true

Their participation pretty much perpetuates if not legitimizes the whole thing.
The public doesn't question it if no one who is a part of it does.

[ArmchairMeme]

19. Appearance is everything

I remember watching a speech by Bush and thinking that the first three rows of people behind him were not moving at all. They were not doing the things that live human beings do during a speech. Swallow, cough, scratch or shift in their seats. The people in the fourth and fifth rows were live people. I got the distinct idea that the first three rows were just a photo background and there were only ten live people sitting there for the actual speech. I thought - aha! there are not that many people listening to this man it is a marketing ploy to make it look as though it is different than it really is.

[yostsghost]

21. My favorite is still..

Shrub standing on the smoldering rubble at the WTCs. What an ominous sign that turned out to be.

[MagickMuffin]

20. Jeff Gannon, Armstrong Williams, etc.

"Would anyone on the word side take a press release and regurgitate it verbatim and publish it in the newspaper as legitimate news," she asked. "Of course not."

Of course they would if you paid them enough. I would wager to believe that Russert, Matthews and the rest of the NBC newz crews would sell out for the right enough dough...:eyes:

[hundred6]

23. my guess is....

to keep bush from saying anything stupid infront of the press. the less time he spends infront of them the less chance of having to run damage control.

[AzDar]

24. The Potemkin President. n/t

[bleedingheart]

26. best post of the day!

yep he is the Potemkin President!

[SoFlaJet]

27. the worst IMO

was him fleeing on AF1 on 9/11 and then selling the 3 picture set for fundraising at $150 a clip-I'll never get over that one.

[daleo]

28. I wonder if Abromov is in any of those handouts?

It is curious that the issue should come up now.

[bobthedrummer]

30. When we consider the fact that perception management programs

originally intended for foreign audiences have inexplicably found their way into our nation, as Rumsfeld acknowledged last week, perhaps these staged events have a hidden agenda.

The DoD dictionary is a good source to understand what is included in these programs-
"perception management:
Actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives and opjective reasoning as well as to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator's objectives.

In various ways, perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception, and psychological operations."

To learn more about perception management here are a few links.

USAF Air War College
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-pcep.htm#perception_mgt

PR Watch on The Rendon Group
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2001Q4/rendon.html

Source Watch on The Lincoln Group
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lincoln_Group

[0007]

31. Mission Accomplished!

[bobthedrummer]

32. The SOTU is sure to have lots of technical effects too-kick n/t