In pursuit of information, journalism students are urged to ask solid, often tough, questions in efforts to gain a full picture, reminds Grumpy Editor, who once taught a news writing course at a California university.
So when Major Garrett, CBS News’ chief White House correspondent asked President Barack Obama at a press conference last Wednesday why he was “content” with the Iran nuclear deal --- with nothing said about negotiations on releasing four Americans (including two journalists) being held in Iran --- an irritated president admonished Garrett by saying, “that’s nonsense, you should know better,” adding, “nobody’s content and our diplomats and our teams are working diligently to try to get them out.”
Garrett, a 1984 University of Missouri graduate with journalism and political science degrees, later said it was odd that the hostages were not part of the negotiations and he didn’t mean to imply that the president was “content” leaving Americans hostage, adding the administration has used the phrasing multiple times before with families of the hostages.
Surprisingly, some members of the White House press corps attacked Garrett as “disrespectful.”
“All I was trying to do was elicit from the commander-in-chief where these four Americans in Iran fell in his prioritization of obtaining a nuclear deal and whether he fought for their release,” said Garrett.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
President tackles two New York City fundraisers in four days. After a Friday night fundraiser that raised nearly $1 million, President Barack Obama and his two daughters strolled through Central Park late Saturday morning. But it wasn’t a quiet, hardly-observed walk. With them were about four dozen Secret Service agents plus New York police officers on scooters and an overhead helicopter. The president was due to fly in for another New York fundraiser on Tuesday…Not getting attention of news editors in the wake of shooting deaths of four Marines and a sailor at a military post in Chattanooga, Tenn., were quick decisions by governors of several states directing their state flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those victims --- yet President Obama has not directed the U.S. flag be lowered to half-staff at the White House and other public buildings…A bit off course. Covered heavily on television, a major brush fire Friday that ignited about two dozen vehicles and halted traffic on California's busy I-15, a key highway to and from Las Vegas, was pinpointed by a MSNBC host as “east of San Diego” when the precise location was 115 miles to the north, near Victorville…A Friday Wall Street Journal opinion piece on “immigrant bashers” mentioned “immigrant” or “immigrants” 16 times without reference to “illegal.” The material came close, however, with “immigrants in this country unlawfully, whether they overstayed a visa or crossed a border, should be required to face serious consequences to make amends”…Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's new book, “A Time for Truth,” finally made the New York Times best seller list (as No. 7 in the non-fiction category) a week after the newspaper rejected it as a best seller, claiming sales were inflated by "bulk purchases”…A tally by Rasmussen Reports found 55 percent of likely voters are opposed to the president’s immigration amnesty while 34 percent favor. In addition, 63 percent feel “gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States” --- highest level of support for more border control since December, 2011…Democrat California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that eliminates reference to husband and wife, replacing each with the generic term “spouse”…After publishing for 46 years, The National Journal will end publication of its print magazine at year end and shift resources to digital journalism.
Tired of constant media references, with accompanying stock market gyrations, to upcoming rising interest rates?
No end is in sight. First it was by June, then September, then October, now “later this year.”
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