-
Chains of Austerity
June 20, 2012 | 83 comments
-
John Edwards, RIP
June 4, 2012 | 28 comments
-
New Hampshire Has Gotten Old
January 9, 2012 | 37 comments
-
Tough Nuts Roasting Under Friendly Fire
December 1, 2011 | 36 comments
-
Confessions of a K Street Freeloader
November 18, 2011 | 26 comments
Media Matters
Helen the Hack
Another Washington success story gets the royal treatment.
“Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough,” said John Huston in the movie Chinatown. To that list we can add White House correspondents.
For nearly five decades Helen Thomas sat in the briefing room of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, earning through sheer longevity the title “dean of the White House press corps.” Her career finally came to an ignominious end Monday when she made some comments so offensive that even her friends in the media could not defend her.
Yet even in disgrace, Thomas was treated as if she was departing royalty. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank called it a “sad end to a storied career” adding, “the White House press corps will be diminished without her front and center.” The New York Times’ Jeremy Peters called her “trailblazing and historic. Few White House correspondents even achieved her high profile and respectability.” Even in its statement condemning her the White House Correspondents Association also called her a “trailblazer.”
Okay, but what exactly had Thomas done to earn her trailblazer status? What important stories had she broken? What great investigative pieces had she done? What corruption had she exposed?
The stories mentioned above didn’t get into that. That’s because she didn’t have any such contributions to her credit. She was and is a hack.
That is to say Thomas is a relic of an earlier age, one before the advent of 24-hour a day cable and the Internet, when news agencies needed somebody physically at the White House to report on it.
Outwardly, the job seemed glamorous. It did ensure that the reporter’s copy landed on the front page or their stand-ups led the evening broadcast. In reality, though, it often amounted to little more than regurgitating White House talking points.
Most reporters would grow bored and move along after a while. Not Thomas. She spent some 40 years working for the wire service United Press International dutifully filling out “The president said today” stories. That is not trailblazing journalism. It’s hackwork.
As Jonathan Chait noted in a trenchant piece about Thomas for the New Republic a few years ago: “The odd thing about her awards and citations is that they almost never mention any specific contributions she has made to journalism save for being female and, well, old.”
Those two things were enough. Despite what many people think, D.C. can be a pretty sentimental place. Individuals can earn great affection just for hanging around. As early as the 1980s one could read stories in the Washington Post about how neat it was that somebody like Thomas who had worked during the Kennedy administration was still on the job during the Reagan years.
At least she still had a readership in those days. But by the 1990s UPI went into a steep decline as it was beaten out by AP and Reuters. By this point few people were actually reading her stories. Yet as a beloved institution, she retained her privileged spot in the briefing room.
By 2000, UPI had been sold to the News World Communications, aka the Moonies. Thomas refused to work for them and instead began a gig as an opinion columnist for the Hearst Newspapers. “I censored myself for 50 years…. Now I wake up and ask myself, ‘Who do I hate today?’” she said in 2002. To no one’s shock, she came out as a lefty.
It was then during the George W. Bush years that she achieved the height of her fame. Freed from even a semblance of impartiality, her queries during press briefings evolved into rants capped off with rhetorical questions. A sample from January, 2003: “Why does he want to bomb innocent Iraqis?”
The questions managed to channel the anger of the Left over the Iraq War. But it was little more than Kabuki theater. Her questions elicited little in the way of information. (Bush stubbornly refused to cop to the fact that he just hated innocent Iraqis.) For a while the administration simply ignored her out altogether.
Why was she there anyway? Ah yes, she was a columnist. You can read her columns here. They include such hard-hitting pieces as “Ms. Obama Focuses on Healthy Food” and “Obama’s News Conference Shows Accountability In Action.” Of course, you probably remember them from the times you discussed them at work or around the dinner table.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (80) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Thirsty McWormwood
More Articles From Media Matters
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/09/helen-the-hack
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Ret. Marine| 6.9.10 @ 7:13AM
News flash for any who think this was a reporter, she was not, she opoined about what others considered talk and that's all it was talk, talk, talk. If only she had not said what she considered the truth about her opinion a week ago, she might still have her job. Yup that there's news reporting alright, good riddence.
Alan Brooks| 6.9.10 @ 7:50PM
She was chosen for her LOOKS.
isn't that "lookism"? we'll have to file a lawsuit...
Jim O'Brien| 6.9.10 @ 7:26AM
There is not much unusual about Helen Thomas. She is a typical journalist ---- biased, pig-headed, arrogant, ugly, and stupid.
Eric Cartman| 6.9.10 @ 12:41PM
Ugly?! Why she is as beautiful inside as she is outside! She is a blinding light of gorgeousness that the Left can take pride in. She beams adorableness of the Left, the publishing pulchritude of political perplexity. She is the perfect Liberal.
Alan Brooks| 6.9.10 @ 7:52PM
If you're drunk enough in a bar, she starts to look a little better.
GavInTucson| 6.10.10 @ 3:33AM
If I'm in a bar where she's the only thing on which to focus my attention, I'd say it's time for me to find a new bar.
Occam's Tool| 11.18.11 @ 4:47PM
Isn't that the name of an ugly whore?
Melvin| 6.9.10 @ 7:27AM
Helen Thomas only said what many in the White House Press Corps wanted to say. Including the President and his current Administration.
Petronius| 6.9.10 @ 11:52AM
Mel
The object of the exercise was to prove she could say it with impunity. The real statement she was making was that the White House press room is hers. not the President's.
martin j smith| 6.9.10 @ 7:49AM
Was Helen Thomas a trial balloon ? Well that is quite an image indeed and yet I cannot help but think that there are " No coincidences" in politics.
I am keenly aware that the LEFT including those in the MSM revere her still. But in the nation overall I suspect that in a poll, a vast majority would condemn her remarks that led to her retirement. She retired in shame--and that is as it should be. She will probably limit her social appearances to those who still support her and avoid any appearances where unpleasant things might come out.
Vaemar| 6.9.10 @ 7:52AM
She missed her true calling. Physically, she was a natural for Snow White's witch.
NavyBrat | 6.9.10 @ 11:02AM
Or maybe she was one of Hitler's secret misstresses?
Cpm| 6.9.10 @ 2:50PM
Maybe Danny DeVito's Penguin from "Batman Returns"? They could have saved so much money on makeup.
Chairman Obomba| 6.9.10 @ 3:48PM
We could use her to make death mask for the old lefty Walter Kronkidite. May God forgive them both.
Kelly Staples| 6.9.10 @ 8:15AM
Barry Hussein Soetoro has lost a good, good friend. Not to worry though, he still has loads of pals in the Washighton press corps. Unfortunately for him, and them, the brush apes in fly-over country are catching on.
Stephanie| 6.9.10 @ 8:25AM
Will Major Garrette get that front row seat?
The Army Aviator| 6.9.10 @ 8:54AM
Helen Thomas has been an embarassment to our country for decades! Always anti-American, pro-enemy, she never asked objective questions, nor wrote objective columns. She has always been a Liberal Socialist, Washington elitist. I'm glad she's gone from the WH Press Room. Now, we will be spared her sneering, snarky commentary! Why she was put-up with for so long, is beyond me. That's one OLD BAG that this old pilot will never miss! Good riddance to a national enemy.
Doctor Right| 6.9.10 @ 9:25AM
Helen Thomas is a hideously ugly, old woman...And I'm NOT talking about her looks.
It's about time that this disgusting creep was "outed", and it's divine justice that she was undone by her own hateful, spiteful words.
Good riddance, you useless hack!
(NOTE to American Jews: PLEASE wake the HELL UP! The Left HATES you! They always have. Hitler, Stalin, FDR, etc, it doesn't matter. They hate you. Now please, STOP reflexively pulling the lever for Democrats.)
NavyBrat | 6.9.10 @ 11:05AM
DR. Right. Don't worry Doc. THIS Jew has NEVER pulled that lever. And neither did my Dad while he was alive. We aren't all blind fellatious followers of this charlatan pied piper who would lead us off the cliff. Which is more than I can say for my liberal Jewish relatives in DC, but there's simply no reasoning with some people.
Sandra | 6.13.10 @ 8:02PM
I, too, have been amazed at the almost slavish devotion American Jews have to liberals. Please, please, wake up. Israel is at stake. Your very survival is at stake.
Occam's Tool| 10.14.11 @ 1:09PM
Guys, I agree. I note here the beginnings of two of the greatest commenters on this site: Dr Right and Con Chef.
Chalkdust| 6.9.10 @ 9:42AM
Helen Thomas, a hateful old hag, embodied the liberal media; anti-American and if she thought about them at all, she held the American people in contemp. She'll spend the rest of her life selling used broomsticks
Anthony| 6.9.10 @ 10:22AM
Proof once again that these leftist elites live in their own bubble world. Perception, as opposed to substance, is everything to these folks. I've often said to friends, if one distills the distinction between conservatives and leftists to its most basic formula it's this: with conservatives, seeing is believing, with leftists, believing is seeing.
Helen Thomas has been a vile, ugly ( in many forms) bully for many decades. She epitomizes the arrogance and supercilious attitude of the left.
Now that she has committed a "Dan Rather", if you will, she must be quietly removed from sight. However with the left, it is with the usual plaudits and approbations from her fellow clueless elites. Look for her to get her "Dan Rather" Peabody Award at some future award event, where she will once again be celebrated for the perception of her accomplishments, as opposed to the reality of her tendentious agitprop.
Thomas| 6.9.10 @ 10:41AM
Helen Thomas turns out to be a virulent, liberal, Jew despising, socialist loving elitist. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 10:51AM
Inquiring readers wanna know , is Helen leaving The White House press corps because she's carryin' Obama's love child ?
Doctor Right| 6.9.10 @ 12:14PM
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww!!!!!!!
(I'm shuddering...)
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 10:54AM
So, what this comes down to is that the media types in the White House always knew Thomas was a jew hater and covered for her.
I feel a little sorry for Helen, it must be hard to be an incredibly ugly woman all of your life.
PolishKnight| 6.9.10 @ 11:12AM
Agreed. Thomas probably had help hiding her anti-semitism.
The real problem, though, is that she didn't have to hide racist sentitlements against whites and misandry against men. Supreme court justices can refer to themselves as superior because of their race and get a free pass. Did a single republican senator get up and outright call Sotomayor racist? And where are the republicans with the seething misandry in modern culture where men who work long hours to support their families are considered "privileged" and to be discriminated against even as they're blamed for all the "deadbeat" men out there? Oh, wait, they're sending their daughters to blueblood universities.
J.P. Travis | 6.9.10 @ 11:04AM
Helen Thomas is the epitome of leftism. As such she was always useful as imagery, her physical ugliness a pefect match for her vain, delusional, mean-spirited inner ugliness. Who will take her place? Barbara Streisand? Randi Rhodes? And why are leftists so consistently homely, anyway? http://www.jpattitude.com/090718.php
Ret. Marine| 6.10.10 @ 8:12AM
It's because their fathers have all pissed in a flower-pot and raised blooming idiots, that's why. All flowers are perfect once, but as they grow to their usefullness, they all wither and die. See anything good coming out of it?
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 11:05AM
Anthony,
Good comments.
Yes the liberal media will give Helen a couple of more awards before and after she kicks off...They'll tell each other how brilliant they are at their Awards banquets as they reward each other with yet more awards....kind of like Hollywood with all their dozens of award shows giving awards to the most leftist among them instead of for talent.
NavyBrat | 6.9.10 @ 11:11AM
I'm not surprised at all by this ole harpy's comments. The left has been involved in Jew hating for AGES. Lest we forget that one of the greatest lies ever written by Communists was "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," which is still lauded as fact by jihadis & anit Semite morons everywhere. Helen is a product of this very enviornment. While she has "retired," I doubt this will be the last we hear of her.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."...Oscar Wilde
Its an understatement to say that there is much happiness amongst the normal people of this world at Helen's departure.
Thunderbottom| 6.9.10 @ 11:46AM
One correction: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" was a ham-handed forgery concocted by the Okhrana, the secret police force of the Tsarist Russian regime. However, the more extreme leftist "progressives" as well as many Islamists and neo-Nazis still regard this clumsy book of libel as fact.
Nick in Virginia| 6.9.10 @ 12:21PM
Seems to me that the MSM and the "political establishment" are treating her the same way (with forgiveness and respect for past performances) they treated Mel Gibson when he made his ill-advised statement regarding Jews - NOT!
TVK| 6.9.10 @ 12:22PM
“Err, no. Social Security is a welfare program that transfers wealth from the young to the old.”
So let me understand. For 45 years the government was extracting a mandatory retirement tax from both me and my employer, on my behalf. Now that I’m close to claiming SS I am to be considered a welfare recipient.
I was young when I started contributing, old now, so I guess you would agree I transferred the money to myself.
Le Cracquere| 6.10.10 @ 8:51AM
SS isn't a personal retirement fund that you're paying into--the money extracted from you throughout your career went immediately & directly to the upkeep of already-retired individuals. Similarly, the money you're about to start collecting is coming directly from the pockets of younger workers. There are two words to describe the amount of $$$ you've transferred to yourself, and the first is "Jack."
Ergo, you're about to graduate from being fleeced to fleecing others; however, the shifting ratio of the fleecer/fleecee pools has exposed the entire scam, and isn't far from rupturing it.
Gr0w1er| 6.9.10 @ 12:58PM
"Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough."
A great line by John Huston.
Dustoff| 6.9.10 @ 1:21PM
Guys and gals. Some how I think Thomas hasn't gone away just yet.
Let's see after 6 months.
Dennis| 6.9.10 @ 1:35PM
Actually I'm surprised she was fired or "resigned". There were people defending her by claiming "freedom of speech" or that we were too PC. BS! Tell that to George Allen, Trent Lott, abd assorted other conservatives who went down for far less inane comments...
Dusty| 6.9.10 @ 2:29PM
Not sure why, but one suspects Helen has a lot of cats back home that will enjoy her company in her new-found retirement years...
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 2:47PM
Pity the poor cats.
Debbie| 6.9.10 @ 2:54PM
I supposed the old hag will write her memoirs, with a dedication to Joseph Goebbels
MAJ Mike| 6.9.10 @ 3:33PM
This frees up Thomas to devote more time to her hobby of luring children into her gingerbread house.
Jasperfenton| 6.9.10 @ 3:51PM
What a perfect addition she'd be to the Obama cabinet! Or, as Obama's Ambassador to Israel.
Marcell| 6.9.10 @ 4:00PM
I will never forget this news story
On June 9th, 2010 BLACK CELL said:
SLLLLLAAAAAAP!!
Growing up behind the blockade in Gaza
June 8: Israel's blockade against Gaza is not only preventing goods from getting in, it's also preventing Palestinians from getting out--and with half the population comprised of children under 15, many Gazans are being denied a future. NBC's Tom Aspell reports.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30.....8#37581018
Dick Simmons| 6.9.10 @ 4:01PM
Look for the old anti-semite to show up on MSNBC.
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 6:55PM
Yes, it'll be the Anti-Semite Hour, hosted by Rachel MadCow and Keith Overfrite. Occasionally hosted by Chris-the-spine-thrilling-leg tingling-Matthews.
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 4:46PM
Didn't Obama say he was gonna kick Helen's A$$, and put his boot on her neck ?
Or was that BP ?
Ron Holt| 6.9.10 @ 4:51PM
Orwell wrote that if one wished to understand the Left, all that was needed was to contemplate the ugliness of its women. Helen Thomas is perfect testimony to that insight-- both physically and intellectually revolting.
Evelyn| 6.9.10 @ 4:53PM
All I ask now is that we don't have any more of those dreaful close-ups of that old wax museum refugee. She looks like she's melting.
jrjr| 6.9.10 @ 4:54PM
All of you people piling criticism on the WH maiden of the press corspe (sp) had better watch your back. She (or it) may read your posts.
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 6:44PM
Be afraid, be VERY afraid.
Dan| 6.9.10 @ 4:55PM
She just landed a job haunting houses in Oct..
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 5:17PM
She's pretty enough to get approved for The Supreme Court .
gearjammer| 6.9.10 @ 5:23PM
The question is how does one become so diseased of mind ? And, she is one of many thousands in the Washington orbit, be they politicians, media, career bureaucrats, socialites, enshrined personalities, lawyers , and whatever else that also are diseased of mind. And, they matter. They have power and influence and they have done much to damage our great country. When do we get to prosecute them ? How can we sue them ? Is there some way to kick their asses ? Vote Republican ? Sure they'll hate that. But, the Republicans never put a hurt on these people. Too polite, too much cowardly lion. Get rid of the elephant logo and replace it with old Bert Lahr as the cowardly lion. We need a party of raging bull elephants to into Washington and trample the establishment into oblivion. We need a Tarzan of a leader to give out the yell and the bulls need to charge.
John II| 6.9.10 @ 6:07PM
Whaddaya mean "ugly"? How churlish and shallow. Look beyond the preposterous face and into her soul: why, she looks exactly like . . . Barack Obama and his appointees!
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 6:42PM
And she also is the face of all Blame America Firsters as well.
John II| 6.9.10 @ 9:20PM
Whoa--I didn't think of that. Helen of Troy is referred to by Marlowe as "the face that launched a thousand ships." I guess Helen of Thomas is the face that sunk a thousand ships.
Margie| 6.10.10 @ 10:10AM
While we're on it~ The Face That Stopped a Thousand Clocks.
Which explains the saying, "Time marches on."
victor| 6.10.10 @ 10:39PM
John II:
"she looks exactly like . . . Barack Obama"
Exactly! Imagine that Barack was Dorian Gray, then Helen would be his "picture".
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 8:49PM
Comic Dennis Miller said on OReilly tonight that he's pretty sure that Helen Thomas didn't sleep her way to the top....Gosh, I wish I'd said that.
ConservativeNewYorker| 6.9.10 @ 9:07PM
Jackie Mason wrote in "Schmucks":
"It takes five minutes to commit adultery--maybe ten if you accidentally picture Helen Thomas..."
(page 41)
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 9:58PM
Tim,
You win the funny award.
I can picture Helen Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsberg cackling with glee while they cook a Conservative in their black cauldron....aw heck, maybe they'll throw in a Jew to sweeten the pot for Helen...
PCP Smoker| 6.9.10 @ 10:00PM
"when she made some comments so offensive that even her friends in the media could not defend her."
This statement is bullshit. The liberal media had heard those comments before, or at least similar comments, they were just not recorded for the world to view.
They hid her anti-semitism because she was a fine lib, and would have ignored this one if the old battle axe had not blabbed her gum on youtube.
Eat it bitch
quicksand| 6.10.10 @ 12:05AM
Vaemar ha obviously never seen Snow White. The with was svelte and beautiful in an evil John Adams way. Helen is a gargoyle. She was a practioner of ambush journalism. She used to pride herself on the fact that she would hide amongst the White House greenery only to leap out to confront the unwary. God, what a shock that must have been. It might just scare the truth of a few.
Who was the other doyenne of the Press Room? The one with the hat - Maude something or other - always skewering JFK. Ah, for the old days. Dan (What's the frequency, Ken?) Rather, Sam Donaldson insulting Presidnet Reagan. Reagan feigning deafness. . .
No more news hounds - just a box full of pound puppies. Except Fox News' Major -
quicksand| 6.10.10 @ 12:14AM
You need a decoder ring for above - -
ha = has
with = witch
practioner = practitioner
truth of a few = truth out of a few
hardly worth translating!
Maybe the "What's the frequency, Ken?" episode of Rather, found wandering aimlessly muttering that enigmatic phrase - explains his lunacy in later life.
GavInTucson| 6.10.10 @ 4:00AM
Well, if Disney Entertainment ever looks to do a non-animated remake of Snow White, I'm sure Helen will be on the short-list of people that fit a certain part for that movie.
Calvin Long| 6.10.10 @ 7:39AM
The benefit of having Helen Thomas around is that our own looks into the mirror aren't so unsettling.
Chance| 6.10.10 @ 7:46AM
Kennedy like her because she made his sister, Eunice look good.
Ledbaby| 6.10.10 @ 10:20AM
Here's a little known kernel of information regarding Helen. Look at her closely and you'll see she's actually the lovechild of the late Saudi King Faisal and one of his concubines!
quicksand| 6.10.10 @ 2:18PM
Judging from Helen's unfortunate features, it is difficult to nail down her ethnic background. It is not exactly the face that launched a thousand ships - more like sunk them - - but somewhere I read eons ago that she was Armenian or Turkish or something that would explain that ant eater's proboscis
Occam's Tool| 10.14.11 @ 1:12PM
Lebanese.
Vic| 6.12.10 @ 10:58AM
It would be nice if one could write off such vile utterance as mere senility, but she has said things just about as vile before.
She kind of shot holes in the bottom of the liberal boat of "tolerance and diversity" though didn't she?
jfdi| 7.1.10 @ 4:57AM
shanghai massage