2011-04-28 Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia

2011-04-28 Phil Bronstein SFGate \Obama-Biden administration\transparency\freedom of the press/US\Carla Marinucci\White House press pool\mainstream media\hypocrisy http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?entry_id=87978 Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia  White House officials have banished one of the best political reporters in the country from the approved pool of journalists covering presidential visits to the Bay Area for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.

The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci - who, like many contemporary reporters, has a phone with video capabilities on her at all times - pulled out a small video camera last week and shot some protesters interrupting an Obama fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel.

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What's worse: more than a few journalists familiar with this story are aware of some implied threats from the White House of additional and wider punishment if Carla's spanking became public. Really? That's a heavy hand usually reserved for places other than the land of the free.

But bravery is a challenge, in particular for White House correspondents, most of whom are seasoned and capable journalists. They live a little bit in a gilded cage where they have access to the most powerful man in the world but must obey the rules whether they make sense or not.

CBS News reporter, Mark Knoller, has publicly protested the limited press access to Obama fundraisers, calling the policy "inconsistent." "It's no way to do business," wrote Politico's Julie Mason, "especially [for] a candidate who prides himself on transparency."

A 2009 blog by the White House Director of New Media states that "President Obama is committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history."

Not last week.

&ldquo;White House officials have banished one of the best political reporters in the country from the approved pool of journalists covering presidential visits to the Bay Area&rdquo; for filming protesters interrupting an Obama fundraiser.&rdquo;   