Why Obama's Iranian Citizen Question Really Matters

President Obama took a question from an Iranian citizen during his Tuesday press conference, via Huffington Post reporter Nico Pitney, marking a small step towards a more open and interactive Washington press corps. You might not know that, however, from the press corps' reaction.

Since Obama was inaugurated, many media critics, citizen journalists and web activists have been calling on him to answer meaningful, unfiltered questions from citizens. After watching the Obama Campaign in action, people saw the potential for deeper, direct engagement between wired citizens and a President who gets new media and believes in transparency.

Citizen media pioneer Dan Gillmor, author of We The Media, proposed a citizen press corps to corner politicians on hard questions. Ask The President, which I helped launch in a coalition spanning The Washington Times, The Nation and TechPresident, has already convened national voting on citizen questions for Obama's press conferences. And several White House correspondents have solicited citizen suggestions for potential questions at Obama's pressers, including Jake Tapper, Chuck Todd, Ana Marie Cox and Jon Ward.

Thus it was likely -- and hardly surprising -- that a citizen question would be posed at a presidential press conference. Given the news, it happened to come from Tehran, not Tennessee.

So the complaints of several Washington reporters are not only odd, but hard to take at face value. It is particularly rich for reporters to protest that the White House told Pitney he might be tapped for a question. Every day, a few top White House correspondents have special access in press briefings, while many reporters are never called on (seating charts are powerful). And many Washington reporters routinely, secretly grant the White House blind quotes and restrictive ground rules in exchange for access. By contrast, Pitney transparently told readers about his dealings with the White House, in real time, on his blog. The public would be better served if all media outlets took that tack, publishing any arrangements, restrictions or ground rules along with every article or interview. (Readers would be interested -- media criticism and scrutiny tends to draw traffic across the spectrum.)

Unfortunately, the media's complaints threaten to overshadow the minor progress made on Tuesday. (Imagine that.) By injecting a citizen question into a live presidential press conference, Pitney cracked the Beltway boundaries on who gets to interrogate the President. It matters who is empowered in this rarefied role -- demanding answers from the President on the spot, on air, shaping the framing and priorities of our political discourse. And it's past time that regular citizens, from across the country and around the world, get a turn.

UPDATE: Today Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald discusses the import of having an "actual Iranian" ask a question at the press conference, and features a new, must-see video featuring one of the reporters who has been complaining about the citizen question.

Ari Melber, a Nation correspondent, wrote about citizen questions for President Obama in The People's Press Conference, which ran in the April 6 edition of The Nation. This post is originally from The Nation.

Follow Ari Melber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AriMelber

Comments

[rf dude]

The press-corps zombies just realized

that their relevance has finally died...
--

[NicoloM]

Ari- the Iranian's question has further significance-- a president willing to recognize new sources of "news" like HuffPo, but also a willingness to appear to be connecting with individuals in "the Axis of Evil" Imagine the encouragement to the people Ahmadinejad is oppressing that they have a chance to be heard? He has reached out directly to people in the ME, with his Cairo speech, and in many regards it appears the Iranian dictatorship was taken off guard about the significance of the impact on voting, and massively overreacted, with patently false election fraud.
The media revolt here is also metaphorically like the Iranian situation, the Orwellian suppression by centralized control of media, being resisted by grassroots questioning and connections-- even Republican twitters claim this is so. It wasn't that long ago our own regime intimated the press into conformity with "freedom" fries, or the quid pro quo for access. So you are right, it does matter who is given the "rarified" role of questioner.
Obama has said a couple of interesting things about the press. During the inside the whitehouse special he told Brian Williams that he doesn't watch the cable news shows because they are like professional wrestling, each has a role to play in the theater, which isn't all that helpful. Second, he says reads letters from citizens every day because he is concerned that being in the insulated environment you describe as the "beltway" will cut him off from understanding what American's think.

[frankwatson]

Obama is a supporter of terrorism! He's paying Hamas $1 Billion Dollars in Gaza for firing thousands of rockets a year into Israel. This Terrorist Hamas group that is an ally and Proxy of the Ayatollah & Mullas of Iran. Obama sees no difference between the Religious fanatics who rule Iran, and who support Hamas & Hezbollah. He believes as he stated a few days ago that they're having a vigorous debate in Iran. A debate written in the blood of the protesters, their smashed heads by baton wielding state police, and the innocent young girls being shot to death in the streets of Tehran. This to Obama is a vigorous debate. North Korea is testing the naive Obama. They've got his number and know that he's silly weak & naive. Obama is also confused by the Ayatollahs that he thought he could charm into stopping their pursuit of nuclear weapons. I used to laugh at Bush & Cheney when they referred to the "Axis of Evil", but now the whole world can see them & there is no doubt who they are. Except for Obama who's confused & wants to have hot dogs with the Ayatollahs. Obama supports the terrorists! By his every action,he plays right into their hands! Obama thinks Israel can live with a Nuclear Iran & that he can negotiate with the Ayatollahs. How will Iran treat the Jews that they so hate and vilify when they murder their own children in the streets of Tehran!

[t9chi]

Are you in a mental institution at this time or re you yet to be commited?

[cinesimon]

Hamas didn't get a dime - they have nothing to do with it, you gullible lemming.
The U.N has/is distributing that money for rebuilding destroyed homes, schools, clinics and hospitals.

Do you not support humanity?
Or do they have to be of your ideology to be allowed the privilege of life on this earth?

They used to think your way in early '30s Germany, too!

[LeonBNJ]

To me the real difficulty in answering questions such as the 'citizen question' as to the protests in Iran is very simple - to give support to the opposition to the leadership would affect
OIL
OIL
OIL.
Be critical of the leadership of Iran and it could cause them to cut the oil shipments and thus raising the price, something the world including China, Europe and especially the USA and their respective politicans - especially Pres. Obama - who can't afford the political hit as well right now.

[IGNSTHMD]

what was the iranian's question?

[peterg76]

The press corps is terrified at the thought that if the White House tries actual journalism, they might not want to go back.

[PerryWhite]

Prove that it was a question from an Iranian citizen and not from a teenager from North Dakota.

[diamonded]

I agree, I thought it was a presumptuous question in the first place, with a splash of "gotcha", about the last thing you'd expect to hear from an Iranian caught up in a revolution. After 8 years of being ignored by Bush, the MSM, now faced with an intelligent person that behaves like a gentleman, now they grow some balls and suddenly expect Obama to somehow make up for their inactivity while
Bush was running the country into one ditch after another. It's like watching the tv show Cops, riding around jumping gentle people over victimless crimes like pot-smoking, and avoiding law enforcement issues that require a little courage. Fat chance this will get posted.

[ApolloSpeaks]

KISSENGER, OBAMA AND RONALD REAGAN

Henry Kissinger's approval of Obama's handling of the post-election violence and crackdown in Iran is in inverse relation to his opposition of Reagan's confrontational policies with the Soviet Union as being too provocative and dangerous. Kissinger is as mistaken about the clueless, weak, anti-Reagan appeaser as he was about Reagan's toughness and unwavering strength. And as Reagan's courage in international affairs and unyielding commitment to liberty and free enterprise made the world a vastly more peaceful and safer place Obama's invincible ignorance, lack of strength and moral blindness to evil is leading this country and the world into extreme peril.

Postscript:

Reagan's failure at engagement with Iran, Iran Contra, is about to be repeated by the Clueless One. Many of us are ignorant of, or have forgotten, Operation Praying Mantis when Reagan ordered US destroyers in the Persian Gulf to open fire on Iranian Naval ships in retaliation for a US frigate damaged by an Iranian mine. Our forces sunk two Iranian destroyers and several armed speedboats. Also hit in the battle was an Iranian commercial jetliner carrying and killing 299 passengers-though an accident the number of dead Iranians matched the number of murdered servicemen who perished in the Iran backed Marine baracks attack five years earlier in Beirut.

[fya]

Apollo, the Oracle knows the future, do you? What do you suggest Mr. Obama do in regards to Iran? You seem all knowing.

[fya]

Apollo, what is that you wish the President to act on. You want him to send in the troops? Reagan didn't want to develop diplomatic relations with Iran. He sold arms to the Iranians, using the proceeds to aid the Sandanistas at the same time undermining our national security. The same thugs that held Americans as hostages, aided Hezbollah and Hamas and killed scores of Marines. What did Reagan do to build diplomatic relations with Iran. Oh, I forgot, he went to Grenada. You know the country that threatened our sovereignty. Reagan was a disgrace. He was a good actor (and that is subjective), but not a good President. NEVER!

[ApolloSpeaks]

It seems that Obama doesn't have the right stuff to take any vigorous action in word or deed in support of the pro-democracy protesters in Tehran.He lacks the head, heart & stomach for war and wartime leadership­.Reagan not only stood tall for Lech Walesa and Solidaity he covertly aided them in their resistence to Soviet tyranny. Obama is the anti-Reagan in every which way. Instead of"Peace through Strength" we have peace through appeasement, apology, accomodation and abasement. America now wears the face of a weak spineless fool leading us and the world into great and terrible danger.

[silverball]

thanx for injecting a bit of truth and reality about what kind of president reagan actually was....(hi­nt, hint...NOT a very good or honest one)....

[Phreaked]

"Reagan's failure at engagement with Iran, Iran Contra, is about to be repeated by the Clueless One"
Glad to say that Bush is out of the Whitehouse, srry couldn't resist

And how is he repeating Iran contra? I don't see the Obama subverting an arms embargo here and selling arms to Iran.

[ApolloSpeaks]

Reagan was hoping that Iran Contra would soften Khomenei's hostility to the US and lead to a diplomatic breakthrough as Reagan wanted Iran back in the anti-Soviet camp. But Khomenie remained implacable. Khamenie shares his predecessor's implacable hatred of America and all that we stand for. There will be no grand bargain with Iran while the Islamofascists are in power.

[embelina]

So basically you think that we should go to war with Iran. Then we'd be at war in 3 countries then maybe we can throw in North Korea as well. If you take a look at the history of Iran you'd see that the US had a pretty strong hand in the leadership that has been in place.
Furthermore, are you saying that shooting down commercial jetliners is a good way of getting even for servicemen being killed? That will really bring around countries to support us.
You are spewing hatred because we're not bombing the hell out of Iran...tal­k about ignorance and evil. Take a look at yourself.

[ApolloSpeaks]

We are at war with Iran.

[swan1]

I glad he took the question, too bad it was a stupid one. Since when does a President validate another country's election. If only France had validated Bush-Gore. LOL

[nellie]

I think the press corps feels both threatened and insulted by the notion that a better question could come from an ordinary citizen. But the president's press conference proved this to be the case. Pitney asked the best question of the conference. And McClatchy asked the worst.

Journalists need to take a hard look at themselves and their profession. There are some excellent professionals out there doing some amazing work. But none of them ever seems to show up at the White House.

[flamflurm]

More open? We've never had a more in-the-bag WH press corps than now.

[Phreaked]

What do you call the past 8 yrs? Fair and balanced ala Faux news?

[frankwatson]

As John Lennon said... "Before Fox News there was nothing". Fox is beating the other left wing Democratic news networks dramatically on all fronts!

[FullChat]

I think that the question was a great idea and well executed.
And I didn't mind that Obama didn't answer the question - nor did I think he should....

[libwingoflibwing]

Senator Bernie Sanders has been answering questions from callers on the Thom Hartmann Show every Friday for years in a segment called "Brunch wtih Bernie." It is a powerful way for him to connect wtih ordinary people.


I think it would be great if Obama did the same thing every so often. He'd probably want to spread it around among many different national radio talkshows, including ones with audiences inclined to be antagonistic. I doubt, however, that Rush, Hannity, Savage or Beck would want the President to be able to answer the allegations that they make that their listeners would parrot back in their questions. But if they did, wouldn't that be exciting?

[Garybot]

It would be great - unfortunately those shows are constantly asking him to come on. But he knows he'd get some actual hard questions, so there's no chance he'll actually do it.

He did go on Bill O'Reilly once - I've always felt O'Reilly had made a deal to pitch him only soft-ball type questions so he could get him to come on.

Do you find it strange that the president is too scared to take real questions from "the press" and talk show hosts?

Watch Bill O'Reilly take on Barney Fife (Frank) tonight on Fox if you get a break from watching ABC.

[swan1]

Billo, is so full of himself and has been caught in so many lies. Mr. falafel himself will sell his mother for attention. He never lets people finish, oh well, he fits in where he is.

[frankwatson]

I cannot believe how GAGA the left wing press is over Obama. I watch him speak and he sounds silly, naive, childish yet charming. It's going to prove very embarrassing to the Obama Media when the public wakes up from the spell this media put on them & becomes more and more aware of Obama being a very charming and good looking snake oil salesman who is doing major damage to this country on every front.

[GardenerNorCal]

Our elected officials should be answering citizen questions at every turn. It shouldn't be considered a novelty, it should be business as usual. Rather than worry about what's happening in Iran I would like to see him answer some hard domestic questions.

[alumcreek]

They do answer citizen questions if the citizen has amply stuffed their campaign funds with cash beforehand.

[Weirdwriter]

What "hard, domestic questions" has the president allegedly not answered? And how do you think those ordinary citizens who get up at town hall meetings and such manage to afford those big cash contributions?

[PocketWatch]

He does pretty well at these Town Hall meetings I keep seeing. My understanding is that, unlike his predecessor, who stuffed the place with only admirers and allowed no one who might ask a tough question near the place, the President takes unfiltered questions from citizens all the time.

[clearthinker2008]

Why do our president have to answer Iranian questions?

[alumcreek]

Why not?

[Weirdwriter]

He has always answered every question put to him -- just not to everyone's satisfaction.