Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Discrete Reporting to Avoid Angering Sensitive Peoples

The LA Times reports that a certain Vice Presidential candidate is having his or her first meetings with world leaders at the UN. Pictured: Hamid Karzai.

The campaign told print and wire service reporters that they would not have a representative in the pool of reporters accompanying (Candidate X) to her meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, a foreign policy advisor to McCain.

The pool of reporters, which was to include a television crew, was supposed to be in the room for a few moments -- just to capture the opening of (Candidate X's)meetings. But when the campaign announced that even the pool television producer -- who is charged with capturing editorial content for the five networks -- would not be permitted in the room, the networks threatened to pull their cameras from (Candidate X's) events today.

...Eventually, the campaign relented and allowed a CNN producer into the room for the meetings. But there were no wire service reporters or print reporters present for the first meeting, with Karzai...The president and (Candidate X) talked about his son.

I'd comment on this, but I fear I've said too much already. Please don't be angry at me.

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