Media Playground: Obama Calls on HuffPost, Michael Calderone Pouts, Ben Smith Calls Us Names, Dana Milbank Gets His Facts All Wrong

Lots of squawking going on in the media sandbox after President Obama called on HuffPost's Nico Pitney at today's press conference.

Seems some of the boys can't seem to understand why the president would have the nerve to call on someone whose Iran coverage has been praised throughout the media, from Charlie Rose to Andrew Sullivan to the Economist.

Politico's Michael Calderone couldn't seem to get over the order in which Nico was called on. "It was a departure from White House protocol," he fumed (the DC equivalent of "I'm telling Mom!").

Dana Milbank went the conspiracy route, calling Nico "a planted questioner" and tossing snarky comments into the mix: "Pitney recognized his prompt", "Pitney asked his question, as arranged." In Milbank's melodrama, "reporters in the room looked at each other in amazement at the stagecraft they had just witnessed. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel looked at the first row of TV correspondents and grinned." I'm certain if Emanuel had a mustache, Milbank would have portrayed him twirling it.

But hyperbole wasn't Milbank's biggest sin. It was repeatedly getting his facts wrong. He claimed: "Pitney had sent what he called a 'solicitation' to the White House." Not true. Nico solicited his readers about questions they'd like to see the president asked about Iran. The White House then contacted him about asking a question at the presser (When Nico pointed out the inaccuracy to Milbank, Milbank promised to correct his post. As of 10:10pm EST, he hasn't... quick to malign; slow to correct). Milbank also says "Obama aides agreed to call on the Huffington Post writer with the understanding that he would ask a question from an Iranian." Wrong. They never agreed to call on Nico; they alerted him that he might be called on. (You can read what actually happened, as told by Nico and Bill Burton, here and here.) Nico has been liveblogging about events in Iran almost around the clock for over a week. So did Milbank really suppose that Nico would have chosen to ask the president about something else? Steroids in baseball, perhaps? Oh, right -- one of Milbank's co-workers already did that.

Back at Politico, Ben Smith declared the calling on Nico "a nice case of symbiosis, not entirely unlike the Bush administration's close ties to Fox," branded HuffPost "left leaning" and part of "the new partisan media," and said that "what's good for the Huffington Post is good for the White House, and vice versa."

Now, I know Ben is a busy guy -- and I love reading him. But before he decides to characterize a site he really should take the time to, y'know, read what's on the site.

If he had, he'd have known that, unlike Fox and Bush, HuffPost regularly takes on the Obama administration.

Indeed, we have been critical of many administration decisions. Take my posts on the administration's handling of the financial crisis and the bank bailout for starters.

Was it "a nice case of symbiosis" when I called on Tim Geithner to resign, writing that "it was painful to watch Obama... go on Jay Leno and say that Geithner is doing an 'outstanding job,'" and that "Obama's assessment had more than a whiff of Bush telling Brownie he was 'doing a heck of a job'"?

Was it an example of "the new partisan media" when I laid out chapter and verse on Larry Summer's toxic ideas?

Was it "good for the White House" when I disparaged Obama's desire to put the Bush administration's use of torture in his rear view mirror?

How about when I chided the administration for capitulating on the cramdown provision in the bankruptcy bill?

And these are just a few examples (see the links below for more). And these are just my posts. We regularly run stories by our reporters and posts by our bloggers that no one could ever describe as "good for the White House."

Would Ben Smith say the same about Fox's coverage of Bush?

Michael, Dana, and Ben: come in from recess. You guys clearly need a nap. And a better fact-checker.

Links:
Mission Shrink: We've Gone From Saving Wall Street in Order to Save Main Street to Just Saving Wall Street

Wall Street, DC, and the New Financial Euphoria

The Stress Tests Fail The Smell Test

Why Are Bankers Still Being Treated As Beltway Royalty?

Obama's First 100 Days: The Good, the Bad, and the Geithner

The Torture Moment

The Obama Economic Team's Flawed Cosmology: Still Believing the Universe Revolves Around the Banks

Larry Summers: Brilliant Mind, Toxic Ideas

Take the Steering Wheel out of Geithner's Hands

A Disturbing D.C. Whodunit [Update II]

Why is Obama Reluctant to Kill the Zombie Banks Threatening Our Economy?

Bipartisanship Fetishism vs. What's Best for America: Obama Needs to Choose

Tim Geithner, CNBC, and the Second Coming of Known Unknowns

It's Time to Treat America's Homeowners as Well as We've Been Treating Wall Street's Bankers

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[CulinaryHatchet]

Hahahahahahaha!

I can't stand "business as usual!" Keep it up, White House!

Hello, Washington Journalists!!!!!!, with the ubiquitous presence of the Internet and communication tools such as Twitter the genie is already out of the bottle.

Adapt or be eaten alive!

No wishes for you!

Culinary Hatchet
www.culinaryhatchet.com
http://culinaryhatchet.ning.com
http://twitter.com/CulinaryHatchet
http://culinaryhatchet.yelp.com

[o4tuna]

The Washington press corp are the elite of journalism in this country, or so they think. The little display Milbank put on Sunday morning was disgraceful. They (the current administration) should clear the room of the bulk of them.

[GHDiel]

The media landscape is changing beneath our very feet as we speak. More to come. Most old mass media, broadcast, is being heavily impacted by the internet...only recently have they taken notice. That's what happens when you get blindsided with a slap upside the head. Glad the Obama administration shook up the press club protocol. Keep up the great work HuffPost!

[DenverJJ]

Journalists are not tinkers by nature. They may say "we the changes coming," but there nature is to treat this change like any other news story and move on to another story tomorrow. Change is the theme at Huff Post. Change was the OBAMA theme. What the media ia missing and the HP and the Obama teams know that the big media companies don't know: these new tools for change work.
I would love to see blank seat in the whitehouse press room, in the front row of course,for the President's online community (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace et all.) so that regular Press Corps will get it.
The big three media companies don't know how to create new brands that suppor their business becuase the new tools can destroy their businesses. When will Barry Diller buy CBS or will MSNBC become one of Dillers brands (see http://www.iac.com/Our-Businesses/).
DenverJJ

[Counterglow]

You politicians just keep on delivering the legislation the big money lobbyists want. America will continue its spiral down the toilet and China will continue to do the job the old USSR couldn't: take America's place as "Big Dog on the Block".

The companies these high paid, well-fed lobbyists represent will be just as happy to deal with rising economies and wring the last few drops of blood out of the US, then throw it away like a dirty Kleenex. The lobbyists will do just fine. Not one of them gives an honest d@mn whether the United States wins or loses.

[tbonehead]

wins or loses . . .what?

[SevenMoe]

Politicians are elected officials who are appointed by a majority, of a public/community. The public should, instead of reacting cynically through fallacies, engage more and ensure that the smartest and most talented politicians are appointed to ensure public interest is at the forefront of political maneuvering. The lobbyists on the other hand have no one to take care of but their own interest and the interest group they seek to support. Reform around lobbyist’s laws is where America will benefit the most from, not only the reform of the political candidates that support them.

[Cyclone]

I have never thought very highly of Politico or it's writers. Ben Smith is a perfect example. I also just read a Politico peice about Obama being too good at everything, his marriage, his diet, his exercise, his parenting, everything. It cited his only fault as "smoking". It went on to say how eventually the bloom would fall off the rose because of course no one is perfect. They were so pathetic and desperate to be critical of Obama they invented their own non-story story. Politico is a conservative funded operation with a bunch of hacks who lost their jobs at the Wash. Post and NY Times.

[KayCo]

This is why I have a lot of respect for Arianna and the Huffpo, which I read almost daily. She does not just shower praise on the administration. She and the other writers will definitely let it be known if the administration makes a decision that is not in the best interest of the American people.

We elect these people...we need to hold them accountable

[dwillisno1]

One Radio Talk show guy actually complained about Nico, and used the liberal questions about Jeff Gannon as fodder for suggesting a double standard!

[Dweezle]

Most of my opinions of President Obama have come from articles I have read in the Huffington Post and Pacifica Network Station KPFK in the Los Angeles area. I pay NO attention to the Corporate owned Media, I cannot believe anything they write/say. They are the same people that published Bush press releases and statements about Iraq as news, without any verification. In my opinion they are the American version of TASS, Pravda or Hsinhua strictly toting the Party Line. I usually refer to them as the "U.S. Ministry of Propaganda". I even listen to PBS reporting with a grain of salt.

[AlaninElkGrove]

faved!

[apolloguide]

Sweat not Ariana you are the Louis Malle of media.

[jamesmiller]

Not to mention that the question Mr. Pitney asked on behalf of the Iranian may have been the toughest of the whole conference. If the White House press corp actually came close to living up to its self-image it wouldn't be so bad, but "how many cigarettes do you smoke?","Were you influenced by John McCain?" etc etc. Give me a break.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

***Ben Smith...branded HuffPost "left leaning"***


Then how come I (a conservative Christian Republican) post here?

[Avery Morrow]

Washington Post and New York Times are bleeding cash, and the only defense they can think of is to whine about the new, responsible media that are replacing them. Zero sympathy over here.

[SevenMoe]

I am not sure what you mean by saying they are bleeding cash. The Washington Post and New York Times have a lot to worry about the rapid shift in journalism in the past 10 years. To be more specific, blogs like the Huffington Post are becoming more legitimate and getting undivided attention of the public through giving a vastly different demographic of discourse to take place. The larger news agencies are a slave to their advertisers, which in most cases isn’t true for bloggers. The big news agencies are no longer working for the public; they are working for the advertisement dollar they might get if you view their stories. I just hope that blogs like the Huffington Post do not turn into another Washington Post or New York Times.

[JamesA1102]

Milbank always gets his facts wrong. Why are you surprized?

[PhilipTaylor]

Amazing if anything HP is FAR more effective in keeping Obama in line than FOX because we care about facts and have a strong focus on the Constitution and the RULE OF LAW!

Clearly, HP is still being discovered for the GEM it has become and the MSM would do well to model themselves after HP or they will be left in the DUST once the Bandwidth expands to compete with them.

Here I sit on a lookout over the Pacific Ocean 60 miles north of San Francisco and I can get enough bandwidth to blog but NO TV and NO phone service, except for my Sprint Modem!

HP has a bright future! Look out MSM!

[AlaninElkGrove]

Jenner?

[Carolab]

Indeed, if they are attacking you, you MUST be doing something right!