Thursday, January 25, 2007

No Dump. It's Thursday.



This article by Dana Milbank on the Libby trial (via Atrios) contains a lot of interesting stuff about this administration and its relationship to the press. I especially liked the following:

It is unclear whether the first week of the trial will help or hurt Libby or the administration. But the trial has already pulled back the curtain on the White House's PR techniques and confirmed some of the darkest suspicions of the reporters upon whom they are used. Relatively junior White House aides run roughshod over members of the president's Cabinet. Bush aides charged with speaking to the public and the media are kept out of the loop on some of the most important issues. And bad news is dumped before the weekend for the sole purpose of burying it.

With a candor that is frowned upon at the White House, Martin explained the use of late-Friday statements. "Fewer people pay attention to it late on Friday," she said. "Fewer people pay attention when it's reported on Saturday."

Many of us have noticed the Friday dumping of bad news. But it's nice to get confirmation of our suspicions. Read the whole article. It's worth your time.