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In reply to the discussion: State Department Brief Today on Snowden. Unbelievable [View all]karynnj
(59,466 posts)Last edited Sat Jul 13, 2013, 02:34 PM - Edit history (1)
complete her answers. He repeatedly asked questions and cut her off sometimes after less than 5 words. He then often took those incomplete responses and twisted them. Whether you like the State Department position or not, this is more a reporter trying to make news than to understand from the spokesperson what the State Department actually did or what there position was.
I am surprised that no one cut off the reporter. Imagine this were the other way around - say it was a Republican House member questioning someone from Wikileaks before his committee where he asked a question framed to his political agenda and then cut the spokesperson off before they could get 5 words out -- and then twisted the partial answers. This is NOT journalism, nor an honest attempt to actually learn what the State Department's actions were. (In fact, a NORMAL Q&A might have provided far more information on what the State Department actually did. )
As to "weaseling, parsing, and spinning", the reporter did not give her any chance to do any of that.