There are two highly satisfying things about this story. One is that it is part of the slow yet steady exposure of the Bush administration's calculated and wide-reaching attempts to manipulate the media (think Paid "Journalists" playing pundit). The other is that it is an online exclusive. Most of the investigative work was done by an army of volunteer bloggers organized through various anti-establishment blogs, especially at The Daily Kos.

Here's a brief summary of the show so far, for those who didn't want to make it all the way through the truthout piece:

1) During Bush's last press conference, a reporter identifying himself as "Jeff Gannon from Talon News" asked Bush a softball question about how he was planning to deal with Democrats who were "so divorced from reality" that they were willing to suggest that perhaps Bush's domestic agenda might be bad for the country's economy.

2) Surprised by the audacity of the bootlicking and the obscurity of both the reporter and his news organization, the good people of the blogosphere set themselves to find out who "Jeff Gannon" was and what "Talon News" might be.

3) A number of things eventually came to light:

* Talon News is a right-wing partisan site that was established a mere 4 days before "Jeff Gannon" made his first appearance in the WH briefing room. It does not carry advertising, does not pay its 'reporters', has virtually no readership, and does not have paid subscribers. Much of "Jeff Gannon's" "journalism" consists of cut-and-pasted White House press releases.

* Talon News is essentially a subsidiary of GOPUSA, which is pretty much what it sounds like: a right-wing partisan advocacy group.

* "Jeff Gannon" has no journalistic creditials apart from a two-day seminar run by a right-wing organization, and no experience working as a journalist. Yet, he has a WH press pass and gets regularly called on.

* "Jeff Gannon's" real name is J. D. Guckert.

* Along with JeffGannon.com, J.D. Guckert owns a few other domain names, including: Hotmilitarystud.com, Militaryescorts.com, and Militaryescortsm4m.com.

(Can't figure out why he would need those domain names? Americablog explains it all for you.)

* A picture is unearthed of what looks very much like "Jeff Gannon," sorry, J.D. Guckert, naked except for a watch and a pair of white briefs, posing his chin on his hand meditatively while giving the camera what can only be described as a come-hither look.

(For the most sensational coverage of this aspect of the story, with tighty whities pic, look no further than the New York Daily News' Bush Press Pal Quits Over Gay Prostie Link.)

* As the revelations mount and the glee intensifies, "Jeff Gannon" suddenly announces his retirement.

* The mainstream media FINALLY picks up the story.

Why is this news? Well, think about it. Here's a guy with no credentials, operating under an alias, who is admitted into the WH press pool and gets called on by both McClellan and Bush--neither of whom, of course, now admits to knowing who the man is or how he got in there--and gets called on while other legitimate reporters are passed over. He is, in other words, a plant. He's being paid "a stipend" by Talon News, which otherwise employs "volunteer reporters", to pretend to be a journalist in order to try to make McClellan and Bush look better on TV. He's...I mean he's not even a shill. He doesn't rise to that level. He needs a whole new name. The Kos people have found one for him: PropaGannon.

But for a guy with no credentials and no career history, "Jeff Gannon" became real busy real fast. He was tight with right-wing shoutmaster Sean Hannity, who relied on "Jeff Gannon's" "exclusives" for his "coverage" of "Rathergate." And he is also up to his neck in the Valerie Plame affair--you know, that incident where the right-wing media outed an undercover CIA agent in order to retaliate against her husband, who had blown the whistle on the forged documents Bush cited in his State of the Union speech. That's why there are now two Congressional representatives and one Senator trying to start a formal investigation of "Jeff Gannon" and his nefarious activities.

Oh, and, by the way, in addition to helping endanger the lives of undercover CIA agents, "Jeff Gannon's" outside interests may include running an 'escort service' for gay men who want a little hot military stud action. This while 'writing' 'stories' with titles like "Kerry Could Become First Gay Pres."

McClellan's story is that "Jeff Gannon," who was denied a Congressional press pass because THEIR screeners shrewdly determined that he wasn't a journalist, is admitted to the WH on a 'day pass' (which I guess has been renewed every day for 2 years) and that any online 'advocacy journalist' could do the same. So, according to Scott, I could appoint myself the White House Bureau Chief for CFC.com News and apply for a daily pass under the CougVandal name, and get into White House press briefings.

Watch this story, folks. And do not be satisfied with what you see on TV. There's more information out there at Kos, Salon.com, and the other blogs than is going to make it onto the evening news. There are still an awful lot of unanswered questions in this story...

These networks will continue to high light negative and hard questions tossed to the president.

How do you think this should be handled? Should only liberals be allowed to ask Mr. Bush questions? Should all questions asked be screened by you?

I think I hear black helicopters.

SINCLAIR LINKED TO BUSHCO with false Medicare news segments
by zknower
Tue Oct 12th, 2004 at 08:39:49 PST

Remember back in March when TV stations were accused of broadcasting propaganda for the Bush Admin by airing segments "designed to look like news" which were, in fact, prepackaged spots prasing the new Medicare bill?
Turns out one of the major groups cited was SINCLAIR.

from Center for American Progress:


SINCLAIR AIRS FAKE NEWS BROADCASTS PRODUCED BY BUSH ADMINISTRATION: In March, it was discovered that the Bush Administration was producing "television news stories, written and paid for by the government, which have the appearance of legitimate news segments delivered by independent reporters," and distributing them to local newscasts as a way of promoting administration policies - including its ill-conceived Medicare prescription drug law. On the broadcasts, a public relations professional named Karen Ryan pretended to be a reporter. Among the stations which aired the administration propaganda as news: WPGH in Pittsburgh "the Sinclair Broadcasting station that fired much of its news staff in favor of feeds from a centralized newsroom in Baltimore."
Given the controversy over the anti-Kerry film, you'd think that their efforts in shilling for the administration earlier this year would be getting more focus from the SCLM; but a recent Google search shows that no one is yet reminding folks of this connection.

CAP has lots more on Sinclair for your various talking points, but this story actually shows them connected with the Administration.

Um, you don't get called on at White House press conferences unless the President KNOWS WHO YOU ARE. There is no doubt whatsoever that the President himself, personally, George W. Bush, was complicit in this fraud.

--PunkDavid

Jeff GANNON....

Only Link with the master sword can defeat him!!

It's awfully hard to follow this when it gets derailed...

Ha! You honestly think Bush knows everybody that walks in and out of that room on a day to day basis? Maybe the regulars, but everyone? If that's the case, at least he's good remembering names and faces.

so lets see, the white house has someone planted whos going to ask a question, he gets called on and asks, and its hissy fit time

the guy in iraq has someone ask a question cause he cant, and he gets an applause

so which is, is one side allowed to do so and not the other, or is it bad for both sides to do it, or should it be ok for both sides to do it, cause im getting confused here with the hipocracy

peeps what are you talking about? be more specific on the Iraq thing please

the reporter who wanted to ask rumsey(?) a question, but they were only allowing soldiers to ask questions, so he asked a soldier to ask his question

Ha! You honestly think Bush knows everybody that walks in and out of that room on a day to day basis? Maybe the regulars, but everyone? If that's the case, at least he's good remembering names and faces.

Are you serious? Did you read the articles at all? This is way different. Bush and company, or at the very least the GOP, was using a fake reporter to ask questions to either deflect from real issues or to promote something McClellan wanted to talk about.

Come on peeps.....jesus