Mark Sanford emails expose how David Gregory plays the game

[lame54]

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/mark-sanford-emails-expose-how-david-gr

Mark Sanford emails expose how David Gregory plays the game
By John Amato Sunday Jul 19, 2009 11:01am

David Gregory sure learned his Villager lessons well. Want a big Scoop? Just sell out the integrity of your platform (In this case Meet the Press) that the American people depend on for access.

BarbinMD at KOS explains:

When the stories about South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's love of hiking and the ensuing revelations about line crossing and soul mates were first revealed, I think it's safe to say that most people never saw it coming. But what hasn't been a surprise is the resulting confirmation of how many in the media are willing to sell their journalistic souls for political access.

And leading that list has to be David Gregory, who went out of his way to continue the proud tradition of Meet the Press kissing the ass of shamed elected officials.

From his emails to Sanford's office, where he begs for an interview:

Left you a message. Wanted you to hear directly from me that I want to have the Gov on Sunday on Meet The Press. I think it's exactly the right forum to answer the questions about his trip as well as giving him a platform to discuss the economy/stimulus and the future of the party. You know he will get a fair shake from me and coming on MTP puts all of this to rest.

... So coming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to...and then move on. You can see (sic) you have done your interview and then move on. Consider it.

[get the red out]

1. David Gregory, Karl Rove's dance partner

:puke:

[zeemike]

2. It just confirms something that we already know.

That the MSM is in the back pocket of the rethugs...no surprise to most of us that are paying attention.

[ErinBerin84]

3. media matters

has a good article about how these emails show the hypocrisy of Gregory obsessively asking (and acting "troubled) Axelrod about the administration coordinating with the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney (even though it was just a question from an Iranian, not on the subject matter).

[BlueFRanco]

4. David IMBECILE Gregory a wingnut TOOL

Geee who wudda thunk.

He took over for Darth Cheney's tool Russert.

No news here

[rurallib]

5. so stinky even Sanford wouldn't go for it?

[KharmaTrain]

6. The Dark Side Exposed...

For anyone whose worked in trying to land the "big get", this should be no surprise. Networks have been whoring themselves out for years in trying to get the place to land the big interview and will do anything to get it...lie, suck-up, roll over. It's not about truth or holding politician accountable...that's not their job...getting ratings is. While Stretch is a Tool Supreme of the power elite, he's not alone and these memos show more disdain for both his profession and the others who work in it than any other big revelation. Anyone who didn't think Gregory was in the bag for the rushpublicans haven't seen him for the past decade.

[Garbo 2004]

12. Yes, it's the "get." What they'll do to get the big interview. MTP for all its pretense to gravitas

is no different than Barbara Walters trying to get a movie star for one of her celeb interviews.

They all do it, we just rarely get to see the invites.

[cwydro]

7. K and R

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. You can almost hear him pucker up before he writes the snogging letter.

[formercia]

9. What ever happened to journalistic integrity?

or was there ever such a concept?

[Wednesdays]

10. K&R

:kick:

[WI_DEM]

11. David Gregory will never be mistaken for Walter Cronkite.

[MADem]

13. Who believes that Tweety, Olberman and Maddow don't do it this way, too?

Good grief. That's how they get their "gets." It's how Barbara Walters "gets" those swell interviews, it's how Russert squeezed his big ass into a chair at the White House, it's how Oprah got into Elizabeth Edwards' house to ask her about her cheating husband.

Come on. Grow up. It's a business--they ALL do it. "Come on my show, and I'll rip you a new asshole!!!" Yeah, that'll put the interviews in the seats....!

It may seem cool for some here to "pick on" Gregory because he was a good sport at the correspondent's dinner amongst his peers, but all that does is highlight a profound lack of understanding as to how the business works.

The days of Morrow and Cronkite are well and truly dead. It doesn't happen in that real-time, old-school way anymore. Everything is spin, everyone has "reps," and everyone is after crafting their "image."

It's only been this way for, oh....decades.

Why are people shocked, shocked??? And why are they so quick to forget Gregory's question when the Monkey visited Chirac?

[lame54]

15. You're right - nothing to see here folks - let's all grow up

[Lex]

14. Just how Tim Russert played the game too.

Sorry that he died unexpectedly, but Russert treated Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, etc. the same way.

The show has been unwatchable for quite some time.

[tularetom]

16. No thread about the whorism of david gregory is complete without this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYZre8kEsuw