Freedom of the press is not questioned when investigative journalism unearths scandals, But that does not mean that every classified state document should be made available to journalists.
People are more sophisticated in the way they go about dealing with the press.
So this guy, Jeff Johnson, who is an accountant who cares nothing at all about a free press and cares nothing about journalism, he's a right winger who supported the war, you know, who two years ago told people he couldn't stand a word that I wrote.
We talk about a free press. These people hide, they make a lot of money off the media. They hide behind the slogans of free press, and then they can come out with crap like that. It's just garbage. It's insulting to the readers.
I asked him, How could we have a press column if we can't write about other work done in the press?
The mainstream press and television do a very soft job of covering the press, either as corporate entities or as news organizations.
I've never liked the press part of it (no offense), but it comes with the job.
Every time I am in danger of believing the glamour of my own press, some incident inevitably brings me back to earth.
A press card does not provide you with an invisible shield. You're flesh and blood.
There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far.
The day I became press secretary to the President of the United States, I was in an entirely different world from the one I'd been in the day before.
Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.
Don't divide the world into "them" and "us." Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.
When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President's views.
With the press there is no "off the record."