FEMA holds fake news conference!

[PoppinFresh]

I found this HILARIOUS and disturbing at the same time. FEMA basically gave such short notice to the media to hold a news conference that no media outlets were able to make it so FEMA had employees act as reporters to ask questions.

Anyone remember that movie Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger and how the media basically fudged everything? WOW!

But, what's funny is.. and let's be honest.. would the reporters have asked anything different or would FEMA have given any more or less information than if real reporters were there?

Here's the article @ washingtonpost.com butt u will have to sign in to see it.

FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA

By Al Kamen
Friday, October 26, 2007; Page A19

FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.

Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices.

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They were given an 800 number to call in, though it was a "listen only" line, the notice said -- no questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on Fox News (see the Fox News video of the news conference carried on the Think Progress Web site), MSNBC and other outlets.

Johnson stood behind a lectern and began with an overview before saying he would take a few questions. The first questions were about the "commodities" being shipped to Southern California and how officials are dealing with people who refuse to evacuate. He responded eloquently.

He was apparently quite familiar with the reporters -- in one case, he appears to say "Mike" and points to a reporter -- and was asked an oddly in-house question about "what it means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by the president. He once again explained smoothly.

FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker interrupted at one point to caution he'd allow just "two more questions." Later, he called for a "last question."

"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" a reporter asked. Another asked about "lessons learned from Katrina."

"I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far," Johnson said, hailing "a very smoothly, very efficiently performing team."

"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.

Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Asked about this, Widomski said: "We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute."

But the staff did not make up the questions, he said, and Johnson did not know what was going to be asked. "We pulled questions from those we had been getting from reporters earlier in the day." Despite the very short notice, "we were expecting the press to come," he said, but they didn't. So the staff played reporters for what on TV looked just like the real thing.

"If the worst thing that happens to me in this disaster is that we had staff in the chairs to ask questions that reporters had been asking all day, Widomski said, "trust me, I'll be happy."

Heck of a job, Harvey.

 

[Chamba]

Anyone remember that movie Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger and how the media basically fudged everything? WOW!

a better movie to watch is "Wag the Dog" starring Dustin Hoffman...it's so much closer to what happened there and what is happening

I cannot understand why every Americano is not so upset by what has happened in the past 8 years to the point of actually doing something about it..this case of spin, lies and videotape just tops it off.....but I guess that would be too much trouble since their fave sitcom is on in ten minutes and the microwave just went "bing" so that yummy TV meal is ready to eat...lol...and the ones that aren't among the non-thinking brain dead are too full of greed to raise a hand in objection fearing a loss of paper profit.....

 

[HCSmyth]

Anyone remember that movie Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger and how the media basically fudged everything? WOW!

a better movie to watch is "Wag the Dog" starring Dustin Hoffman...it's so much closer to what happened there and what is happening

I cannot understand why every Americano is not so upset by what has happened in the past 8 years to the point of actually doing something about it..this case of spin, lies and videotape just tops it off.....but I guess that would be too much trouble since their fave sitcom is on in ten minutes and the microwave just went "bing" so that yummy TV meal is ready to eat...lol...and the ones that aren't among the non-thinking brain dead are too full of greed to raise a hand in objection fearing a loss of paper profit.....

At least, our favorite yummy meal is not dog...

 

[Pops]

Speak for yourself, HC. Those chihuahuas make tasty snacks. But then, everything goes better on a Ritz.

 

[HCSmyth]

^Yeah but you can't find any good Chihuahua in your grocery store's frozen TV dinner section.

 

[Pops]

Fortunately, I have Mexican neighbors who don't pen up their dogs. Anything running free is fair game.

 

[wantaknow]

twice fried chiuahua ,lol, its easer to get papers on my neighbors than my dog

 

[Guest]

Those Cali Chi's must be pussies Pops,come on down here my dear mammy has a chi that'll give you nightmares.He would eat you if he had teeth.

 

[Chamba]

"what ever happened to the Revolution?,
we just stoned and it faded away.."

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