Here’s a surprisingly ho-hum postscript to the Jeff Gannon soap opera. From Editor & Publisher‘s Joe Strupp:
Since the Gannon/Guckert saga first erupted last winter, the wave of Web writers has not appeared. White House press regulars say few online types have been crashing the daily press party.
“Things are pretty much what they’ve always been,” [White House Press Secretary Scott] McClellan told me in mid-October, noting that [Eric] Brewer appears to be the only recent online-only participant. “From my own perception, it is not something I’ve noticed.” Adds [Knight Ridder reporter Ron] Hutcheson, “I am not aware of anyone from the blog community or online who is there.”
Mark Smith, an Associated Press reporter and current White House Correspondents Association president, agreed that the takeover by bloggers never materialized. “I was frankly expecting a deluge of people, but it hasn’t happened,” he said.
Smith added that the lack of interest may stem from the fact that the press briefings are not all that interesting, and can be seen on C-SPAN, with transcripts on the Web: “Maybe bloggers have better things to do, after the novelty has worn off.”
Technorati tags: Journalism, C-SPAN, Blogs
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