Lapdogs : how the press rolled over for Bush / Eric Boehlert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boehlert, Eric.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946---Relations with journalists.

Bush, George W.

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-.

Press and politics--United States.

Press and politics.

Presidents--Press coverage.

Relations with journalists.

United States.

Presidents--Press coverage--United States.

Presidents.

Journalism--Political aspects--United States.

Journalism.

Journalism--Political aspects.

Mass media--Political aspects--United States.

Mass media.

Mass media--Political aspects.

United States--Politics and government--2001-2009.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xii, 333 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Free Press, [2006]

Summary:

For nearly two years between 2003 and 2005 the Valerie Plame investigation was the best-running whodunit in D.C., with the mainstream media collectively announcing they were officially stumped as to who was behind the Plame leaks that set events into motion. As late as July 12, 2005, ABC's Nightline reported that, "For two years, it's been unknown who told reporters the identity of Valerie Plame." But that was not true. It was well established that a handful of high-profile journalists, working at the nation's largest and most influential news organizations (New York Times, Washington Post, Time, etc.), had been personally contacted by senior officials about Plame. That handful of reporters did nothing with the information, though. In a company town like Washington, D.C., built on professional gossip and where information doubles as currency, it's almost certain that word of the leaker's identity spread, at least among the media elites and their cocktail circuit. Yet almost nobody acted on the coveted details. Instead, there was an unspoken Beltway race away from the Bush scandal story, a collective retreat that's likely unprecedented in modern-day Beltway journalism. Like the White House, journalists seemed more interested in keeping the dark secret hidden.

Contents:

Introduction: Afraid of the Facts 1

Chapter 1 From the Big Apple to the Big Easy 19

Chapter 2 Watching the White House Play Hardball 53

Chapter 3 Noted at ABC 73

Chapter 4 The Press Haters 95

Chapter 5 The War Over PBS 129

Chapter 6 First Lieutenant Bush 151

Chapter 7 Attack of the Swifties 175

Chapter 8 This Is Scripted 205

Chapter 9 Lost on Downing Street 243

Chapter 10 The MSM Goes to War 261

Chapter 11 Still Afraid of the Facts 285.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-315) and index.

ISBN:

0743289315

OCLC:

67393024

Publisher Number:

9780743289313