Congratulations are in order to our good friend Michael Hood, who has been keeping a critical eye on talk radio over at blatherWatch since 2005.
Yesterday, Michael became the first blogger from the Pacific Northwest credentialed to cover a White House press briefing, which is a pretty big deal.
As Michael recounts, it may have been just another day for the White House press corps, but it was a rather special experience for him. As he put it: “It was just plain thrilling for a small-town hack whose meager off-line lifestyle is eating crunchy snacks while plugged into cable teevee and haunting the Sunday shows.”
Interspersed with Michael’s humorous account of the briefing are several amusing pictures of tired or inattentive reporters, complete with fitting captions.
Michael only briefly alludes to what White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and the half-dozen reporters he called upon talked about, but I can tell you from reading the transcript of the briefing (which went on for about fifty minutes) that most of the questions were either about the administration’s diplomatic overtures in the Middle East or the fallout from the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As Michael correctly observed, not much news is typically made at White House press briefings, and today was no exception.
Still, it’s great that Michael was able to get into the James Brady Room for a day. Most bloggers never have that experience.
I have been a faithful reader and occasional contributor to Blather Watch for years. What a well deserved honor!