February 16, 2006
Spoiled Brat Media
By Thomas
Sowell
The first
revolt of the American colonists against their British rulers
was immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the shot heard
round the world." Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident
has now become the shot heard round the Beltway.
The accidental
shooting of Harry Whittington, while he was on a hunting trip
with Dick Cheney, has nothing to do with government policy or
the Vice President's official duties but the mainstream media
have gone ballistic over it nevertheless.
They are
also angry that the news was not given to them more quickly, which
prevented it from becoming the feeding frenzy of the Sunday television
talk shows. Whether this delay was deliberate or otherwise, it
is being called a "cover-up" in the media, as if there
were some crime to cover up.
NBC White
House correspondent David Gregory was shouting at White House
press secretary Scott McClellan, as if Mr. Gregory's Constitutional
rights were being violated. It was a classic example of a special
interest demanding special privileges -- as if they were rights.
There is
nothing in the Constitution or the laws that says that the media
have a right to be in the White House at all, much less to have
press conferences.
This has
become a customary courtesy over the years, but courtesy is a
two-way street, except for those in the media who act like spoiled
brats, as if they have some inherent right to whatever serves
their institutional, career, or ideological purposes.
The media
love to wrap themselves in the mantle of "the public's right
to know" but there is no such dedication to that right when
it goes against the journalists' own prejudices.
The public's
right to know what a "partial birth abortion" is has
been consistently disregarded for years by whole networks, even
when they have given wide coverage to abortion controversies.
Whatever your position on abortions, you need to know what you
are talking about but the media recognize no such "right
to know."
If you knew,
you might not agree with them.
The same
journalists who used phony documents to attack President Bush's
military service recognize no "right to know" why Senator
John Kerry's honorable discharge is dated long after his service
was over and during the Carter administration, when less than
honorable discharges were allowed to be upgraded to honorable.
The "public's
right to know" apparently extends only to such things as
will not cause the public to reach conclusions different from
those of the liberal media.
My favorite
press secretary was Margaret Tutwiler, who treated reporters like
misbehaving little boys, which is how they often acted. Nor were
the reporters' antics due solely to personal boorishness.
They had
before them the example of Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson, who reached
the big time on TV by being snotty to Presidents. At the very
least, White House correspondents can get more time on the tube
by waxing indignant at what they choose to portray as violations
of "the public's right to know" while the cameras are
rolling.
An off-duty
incident in Dick Cheney's private life has been hyped in the media
as if it had some real significance for more than a quarter of
a billion Americans.
The media
want to know when was President Bush informed about this incident?
What did the White House press secretary know and when did he
know it?
The people
who mattered -- doctors and local law enforcement -- were informed
immediately about the hunting accident. What was President Bush
supposed to do -- other than provide the media with something
to print or broadcast?
The media
are so full of themselves -- among other things that they are
full of -- that they act as if the government exists to provide
them with something to publicize. The time is long overdue to
put these people in their place. Where is Margaret Tutwiler when
we need her?
The
New York Times informs us solemnly that, if Mr. Whittington
dies, there will be a grand jury investigation.
If Mr. Whittington
is so uncooperative as not to die, there will be much disappointment
and frustration in Beltway media circles.
Copyright
2006 Creators Syndicate
