The Jekyll-Hyde Relationship

Politicians and their press people have a very interesting relationship with the media. On the one hand, they are dependent on journalists to get their information out and gauge public opinion. On the other hand, they are critical of the media for not always portraying them in a positive light and according to their plan. Although they know it is their duty to give out information, and want to divulge certain facts, the media and government are locked in a constant power struggle over who will set the agenda and decide what news the public will get.

This ever-present tug of war is apparent at any press conference. As I was reading the Press Gaggle given by White House Press Secretary Robert Anthony “Tony” Snow and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Frances Townsend on September 5th, the turbulent relationship between the media and government became glaringly obvious.

At the beginning, when Snow was in control since the reporters had not yet been given an opportunity to speak, the press secretary was accommodating and cordial. He gave the crowd warm greetings and gave them information, including a PDF of the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. Additionally, while he put his foot down by saying the President would not be giving a televised briefing since “it doesn’t work for us,” he assured the reporters they would have enough audio and visual content to fit their needs. The journalists and government members were on a first name basis; a further indication that the two groups have a somewhat constant and friendly relationship.

Yet, it only took some time before the claws came out and it became obvious why the government has a bad reputation. As opposed to his opening, in which Snow came off as congenial and gave the press a lot of information, he quickly became unpleasant and secretive.
The phrases, “I can’t” and “I’m not going to,” were repeated both by Townsend and Snow when they did not want to answer a question outright. They also cut reporters off nine times before they had a chance to finish asking their questions, showing that even when Snow and Townsend opened up the floor they were still in charge since they cut off any question heading in an uncomfortable direction.

Answers that were given were extremely round about. The most glaring example of this was when a journalist questioned the press secretary’s intentions. Acknowledging that the government has an agenda concerning when and why they release certain information, one reporter said: “Is there no political motivation in these speeches?” Rather than give a simple yes or no, Snow spoke for a couple of minutes and then concluded with an ambiguous “you can do with it what you will.”

It was one of the last exchanges, however, that was the most disturbing and can be viewed as a microcosm of the whole conference. A reporter named David began his inquiry with pleasant, “hey, Tony how are you?” to which Snow replied “okay.” It then turned into a battle of words. When Snow tried to evade his question about President Bush trying to frame the political debate on national security by discussing the “major points,” David called him out on it and was then bombarded with insults. The Press Secretary of the United States, the “mouthpiece” of the most powerful man in the country, pointed fingers and slung insults like “you're rude,” instead of answering a question with tact. And for the record, the question was never officially answered.

Reading the transcript of this press conference made it crystal clear how the current administration, and the government in general, received its bad reputation. While they address the public, giving off the impression that they are providing the people with the information they need, it is just a front. Politicians are pretty much in full control of these situations, revealing what they want and only answering the questions that correctly correlate to the day’s agenda.