Comments on: US lawmaker uses neat flip phone trick to avoid talking to "pesky reporters"

By: peregrinus

peregrinus — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:37:00 +0000

Can’t view at workplace! Presuming this is somewhat Jeremy Paxman vs Michael Howard??

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:24:00 +0000

David Miliband Repeats Himself.

By: ruadh

ruadh — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:51:00 +0000

Is it just me, or is Sen. Schumer making an almost PERFECT troll face in this photo?

http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Chuck_Schumer.jpg
http://alltheragefaces.com/face/troll-troll-face

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:28:00 +0000

I was going to say. I’d be more upset if I thought MSM reporters were asking worthwhile questions….

By: peregrinus

peregrinus — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:12:00 +0000

Political journalism has to be obviously worthwhile and avoid irrelevant tittle-tattle to be taken seriously. I was listening to BBC Radio 2 last Friday (I think) evening, and a spot came up on the news (life of me, can’t remember what about, sorry) where the presenter spoke about some accusation or issue to do with ministers of parliament. It sounded strong. But then she went on to say s/t along the lines of ‘ministers have responded …’ and we had a 20 or 30 second slot of delicately worked PR from the mouth of the relevant minister, reasonably and comfortingly reassuring why the government was right. Nothing, no quote, no spot, no mention of the accusers’ position, then on to the next article.

It was absurd. Straight from 1984 (Orwell’s, not Chronos’).

By: peregrinus

peregrinus — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:05:00 +0000

Quite right. If there’s a burning question that the public want publicised and answered, throw it at him, and if he ignores it, throw out loud that he’s publicly refusing to approach an issue.

Be brave, journalists! Be brave.

By: creesto

creesto — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:57:00 +0000

”I’d buy THAT for a dollar!”

By: elix

elix — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:07:00 +0000

In Canada, we're too polite to be so rude as to take a fake phonecall to avoid the press. Our senators just flat out run away.

By: Rhyolite

Rhyolite — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:50:00 +0000

I think I have seen enough ambush journalism – catch them off-guard and hope they say something unconsidered – to understand why a Senator might want to limit question taking to times and places of their choosing. There is nothing here that says Schumer avoiding journalist all-together and there is no reason that a Senator owes it to Journalist to be available every minute at a moments notice.

By: Mackay Bell

Mackay Bell — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:18:00 +0000

A technique I find useful is putting my hands over my ears and humming “I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!” It usually works when you don’t want to talk to someone.

Or, you can say “I forgot I left something on the stove in my kitchen!” and then bolt. That works too.

And finally, you can also answer any question with: “I know you are, but what am I?” After four or five replies they’ll usually give up.

By: James Penrose

James Penrose — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:59:00 +0000

I mistrust our Congresscritters as much as the next person but that does not give reporters carte blanch to engage them in question and answer sessions anytime, anyplace of their choosing.

If the person is busy, on his way to an appointment, thinking over something etc, I have no problem with doing whatever he or she deems necessary to get past people demanding “just a moment of your time” to get done what he or she needs to get done.

“It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please—this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more!”

Robert A. Heinlein

By: Boundegar

Boundegar — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:42:00 +0000

And the Washington press corps still doesn’t get it.

By: insert

insert — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:31:00 +0000

[quote]It’s considered a violation of protocol to interrupt two members while they’re talking.[/quote]
Any reporter who refuses to interrupt two congresscritters having a conversation but would interrupt two similarly-situated regular people should quit journalism immediately. “Objectivity” demands it.

By: Vincenzo Ravina

Vincenzo Ravina — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:18:00 +0000

Paparazzi tend to go for upskirts of celebrities. Senators aren’t really their game, are they?

By: hassenpfeffer

hassenpfeffer — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 15:01:00 +0000

It’s considered a violation of protocol to interrupt two members while they’re talking.

Unless you’re C3PO, eff protocol.

By: oasisob1

oasisob1 — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

I’m not sure I’d like reporters ambushing me in the workplace, but given their role in public society and the running of our Country, I think they should expect it and deal with it appropriately. The ‘Come see me in my office, so I don’t dash off a crappy response that will be taken incorrectly or out of context.’ approach seems to be the best.

By: tw1515tw

tw1515tw — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 12:45:00 +0000

I could swear that Charlie Brooker did a piece on this a few years ago.

By: foobar

foobar — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

If he doesn’t talk to the press at all, sure, but if he just won’t talk on the run that’s rather different.

By: JonS

JonS — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 08:26:00 +0000

How’s about they randomly – but collectively – decide to starve him of media oxygen. See how he likes them apples.

By: foobar

foobar — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 08:24:00 +0000

Sure, but not at any random time of their choosing. He has an office and a phone number.

By: Doran

Doran — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:22:00 +0000

The story isn’t Schumer’s avoiding the media. It’s the media falling for it.

By: GoatLordMessiah

GoatLordMessiah — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 07:09:00 +0000

Mah Boi

By: Mordicai

Mordicai — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:37:00 +0000

I mean, I get annoyed at Schumer but like, until there is a division between journalism & the paparazzi this is always going to be sticky. & no, I don’t have a pithy answer to how to distinguish that, or differentiate them.

By: allenmcbride

allenmcbride — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:21:00 +0000

I don’t see this as so one-sided. Legislating and reporting are both noble and necessary professions. Lawmakers need to talk to reporters, and they also need to take care not to say things that sound wrong when taken (accidentally or deliberately) out of context. The latter need can be used as an excuse to shirk the talking-to-reporters duty, just as reporters’ need to convey politicians’ words to the public can be used as an excuse to selectively omit context for various extra-journalistic purposes. Of course, there are better ways to put off complex-answer-needing questions than faking a phone conversation. (Just as there are better ways to form adjectives than stringing words together with hyphens, but we all have our weaknesses.)

By: Dr. Chronobiologist

Dr. Chronobiologist — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:15:00 +0000

How can a grown man fear a few questions?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

By: BarBarSeven

BarBarSeven — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 03:59:00 +0000

Is this really any different than someone wearing headphones while listening to nothing to avoid conversation? Wait, I will answer my own question: This guy is an elected official & it’s part of his job to deal with reports & humans. Okay, bye.