Portland Oregon radio host Lars Larson did not hold back when criticizing Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki for breaking the sacrosanct rule of journalism by asking media members to submit questions in writing, on Thursday’s edition of The Lars Larson Show on KXL.
“When I became a journalist 46 years ago, one of the first rules you learn is that legitimate journalists never submit questions beforehand,” Larson said. “It’s not written down anywhere, but it is understood. You can give them a general topic, like taxes you would like to talk about, but never specific questions. To ask legitimate journalists to do it is just offensive to me. If you give questions beforehand, it gives the person you are interviewing editorial control over your work. They may answer some questions but not others. It limits your reporting.”
Larson’s guest Rick Manning, who is the president of American’s for Limited Government agrees.
“The White House Press Corps is rolling over on this because they want access to the White House,” Manning said. “Every journalist is looking for a scoop and to get a scoop you need access. One of the main terms of access is to give us (the White House) your questions early so we don’t look stupid. They have basically said if you are not going to play by our rules, you are not getting your questions answered.”
Larson says that journalists who cave into the Biden Administration’s demands are setting themselves up for future restrictions.
“It’s like making your first payment to an extortionist,” Larson said. “You may think you are only paying them one time, but once you make that first payment, they know they’ve got you on the hook forever… You have just sold your soul.”
Manning claims the reason most of the press agreed to these restrictions stem from their dislike of former President Donald Trump.
“The media raised selling Democratic talking points to an art form,” he said. “No matter how many facts they were presented with, they called them all lies because it did not fit the narrative they were trying to sell. Honestly, 90 percent of the people (in the White House Press Corps) are not real journalists. They are political activists and they sold out long ago.”
Larson implies that the very future of American democracy is at stake if this policy remains in place.
“Our Founding Fathers said that the Republic needs an informed electorate to survive,” Larson said. “Now we have a press corps that just goes along with the President’s program. They are not informing, nor are they holding him accountable to do his job and uphold the Constitution.”
