Press Secretary Gaffe

February 1, 2001 6:28 PM

It isn't just Dubya that's making idiotic mistakes in the White House. The Office of the Press Secretary has posted a transcript of a press briefing, in which they themselves identify a source by name that is supposed to be identified only "on background" and as "a White House official." (Who the hell is John Bridgeland, anyway?)
posted by delfuego (12 comments total)

Ha!

So... I've always been taught that if I'm interviewing someone and they're on background, then I'm not allowed to use their name. What are the rules for these reporters, then, when the name is clearly in the public domain, as are the quotes? I wish I had sources like these in my reporting job.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 6:41 PM on February 1, 2001

Oh my God!!! If this is true it may mean the end of our country!!!! Clearly the Bush administration is completely stupid.

And I think it's VERY important to create a thread EVERY time someone with ANY connection to Bush makes a mistake.

Excellent work people.
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:06 PM on February 1, 2001

I don't think it's necessarily a "Bush et al is stupid" link so much as an absurd situation link.

But I'm probably the only reporter on metafilter. This is for me kind of like all the five million comment threads about the benefits of linux for you tech industry folks.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:17 PM on February 1, 2001

Boo-hoo, y6y6y6. Read what interests you.
posted by jragon at 7:25 PM on February 1, 2001

I'm a former reporter and columnist, supafreak. It's very cheesy for the White House to put a guy through a dog-and-pony press conference and tell everyone not to use his name. Especially since unattributed sources are less credible than attributed ones.
posted by rcade at 11:47 PM on February 1, 2001

I was curious how much of a bigwig WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL is, so I looked him up.

John Bridgeland is a policy advisor with an office in the West Wing (source), the chief of Bush's transition team in charge of the Labor department and the former chief of staff for Rep. Bob Portman of Ohio (source).
posted by rcade at 11:51 PM on February 1, 2001

Oops ... the second link was wrong. Not that I would imagine anyone doubts me on WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL's credentials.
posted by rcade at 11:52 PM on February 1, 2001

Am I wrong, or did the White House Official making the introduction raise five points regarding the proposal numbered thusly: First, second, second, second, last?
posted by honkzilla at 9:36 AM on February 2, 2001

Sorry, no, I was wrong. He spoke correctly, I read incorrectly. It was first, second, third; second: first, second, third; finally. My bad.
posted by honkzilla at 9:39 AM on February 2, 2001

posted by croutonsupafreak:
But I'm probably the only reporter on metafilter. This is for me kind of like all the five million comment threads about the benefits of linux for you tech industry folks.

Actually, you're not the only reporter here...and from what I've seen of transcripts of background briefings in the past, they've frequently named the speaker so that people reading the transcript know who he is. That person just doesn't get named in the subsequent story. Pretty standard DC practice.

posted by thescoop at 9:50 AM on February 2, 2001

This isn't so much a nasty about the Bush White House as it is of the whole dog-and-pony-show mentality. "This is the person who will speak whom we have predetermined you will name as a source, and these others are people you may know and recognize but don't say who they are because a) it might be a distraction b) we are managing a tactical fight within our ranks c) so-and-so traded a parking space for a mention."
posted by dhartung at 10:19 AM on February 2, 2001