White House Press Secretary Tony Snow reflected over a Thursday breakfast with reporters—about 50 of them—that he is the only presidential spokesman who has ever been a radio, television and print journalist.
Seated before an assortment of tape recorders plopped near his plate, Snow, after talking awhile, notice that one tape ran out, something a working reporter would care about.
The lumbering old fashioned machine that turned off ith a loud click was mine. With a flourish, Snow made a point of taking out the tape cassette, flipping it over and punching it back on. Just a service he provides.
Unlike the regular White House briefings, the reporters at the breakfast, sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, shot Snow some questions off the main news stories of the day—about how he works, his sources and methods. The session started with a polite complaint—that Snow in his briefings and the president always call on the same people—from the top tier news organizations who get reserved prime seats in the first two rows, no matter what. Snow said it was a``legitimate complaint’’ (of course it is!) said is was a ``problem’’ and said he would encourage the president to spread it around.
Snow has a Chicago connection: he attended grad school at the University of Chicago but never completed a degree.
On to more:
Snow’s operating philosophy: ``If we spin you, we die.’’
