Mainstream media dissing Obama watchdogs?

Is the mainstream media disrespecting members of the press who are holding fast to the traditional role of serving as a watchdog on government and the country's major influences?

That's the message behind a lawsuit by WND against the White House Correspondents' Association, according to the attorney who filed the action.

The complaint accuses mainstream reporters of doing the bidding of the Obama administration in an effort to belittle, exclude and irreparably harm the leading Internet news outlet.

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"It's as simple as this: the Huffington Post is to the left and WND is perceived to be on the right," said attorney Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch as well as Freedom Watch USA, who filed the action.

Klayman was referring to the fact WND had requested and submitted payment for three tables at the association's May 1 black-tie social event in Washington, while the left-leaning Huffington Post, a much younger presence on the Internet, also asked for three tables. But Huffington was granted a table by the association, while WND was allocated only a couple of seats.

Meanwhile, a new website launched only months ago, Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller, was granted a presence at the dinner by the WHCA.

"No one who knows Washington media would ever think that Tucker Carlson is a real conservative. He is a country club Republican. So it's easy to figure out why WND is being given the shaft with the urging of the Obama White House," Klayman said.

"This sends a loud message to other media outlets who are highly critical of President Obama: 'Don't scream too loud or you won't be invited to the ball, unless you can sneak past White House Secret Service,'" he said.

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The Huffington Post has been critical that it got only one table.

"The standards being used by the White House Correspondents Association are really in question now – given its acquiescence to the Huffington Post and its decision to award brand new news organizations like the Daily Caller with preferential treatment over the much more well-established WND and Les Kinsolving, who has covered the White House since the Nixon administration," said Joseph Farah, founder and CEO of WND.

"Anyone who can't see this double standard is blind," he said.

The WHCA refused to respond to WND telephone and e-mail requests for comment. But Ed Chen, the association's president, told Politico he believes WND's effort is "futile."

"The association has seen countless and creative efforts to improve one's circumstances at the dinner; all of them have been futile. This latest ploy will end with the same result," Chen told Politico.

But Simon Owens, who runs Bloggasm's commentary on media issues, suggested there are some legitimate questions to be answered.

"Farah said he would have felt less insulted if he'd received no tables rather than two seats, and he called on the association to have some objectivity on how they dole out tables (I have to admit, I kind of agree with him on this one)," Owens wrote.

"'What are the standards that you use? Does seniority have anything to do with it? Does longevity have anything to do with it? Does audience have anything to do with it? If you measure by any of those standards, you would assume WorldNetDaily passes the test, more than lots of other organizations that wouldn't. What am I to conclude from that?'" he reported Farah questioned.

Owens reported Farah told him, "I think it's a slight to both Les and WND. He's treated like a pariah in the association. He's treated like a pariah by his colleagues at every briefing. Half the time he's standing there with his hand up, and the guy from the AP will just close down the briefing. He's treated with disrespect by journalists. It's really sad because it's not uniform, or universal, that they disrespect elder statesmen of the press corp, because Helen Thomas is treated like a queen. … And Les Kinsolving, who is not much of an ideologue, to be honest with you, but his association with WorldNetDaily pigeonholes him, and he's treated with disrespect."

WND reported when the complaint was filed in court in Washington.

"This year, for instance, WND was among the first to order tables at the event and it ordered three tables. WND was led to believe by the WHCA that it would get three tables. WND needed three tables in order to bring its personnel and distinguished guests to the event, [to honor] Les Kinsolving's tenure as a distinguished White House correspondent, and his daughter, Kathleen Kinsolving Willmann, has just written a book about his career, entitled 'Gadfly.' The three tables were thus necessary to celebrate the occasion and because WND has become over the years a major publication," the complaint said.

The association was given checks for $6,750 for the tables, and the organization cashed one in the amount of $2,250.

"Accordingly, WHCA accepted WND's offer to buy at least one table for the event," said the complaint, which indicated WND also was "led to believe" it would get another two tables.

The actual results, however, "Obviously …harmed and continues to harm WND's ability to celebrate [the tenure of] Les Kinsolving and the publication of his daughter's new book, [and] also harms WND's access to White House reporting and its reputation generally, as it is being treated as a 'black sheep' in the media world," said the complaint.

The complaint also cited the Obama administration's previous attempt to retaliate against a news organization.

"For instance, Fox News, which has also been critical of the Obama administration, and which the White House also fears and loathes, was subject to a boycott [from the White House]," the complaint said.

"Thus, what is apparently a political 'hit' on WND takes on great credibility in the world of Washington politics," the complaint states.

A commentary by Kelly Boggs at Baptist Press outlined the Fox incident from Oct. 22, 2009.

"White House officials tried to bar Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett from a press pool event. The administration was making Executive Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg available for interviews, and Fox was told that while other members of the pool would have access to Feinberg, it would not be allowed to participate," he wrote.

In that case, the other four members of the pool, ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN, "told the White House that if Fox was not allowed to participate then none of them would participate..."

The report confirmed "the White House relented and Fox News was allowed to participate."

The White House has expressed the opinion at the time that it did not consider Fox a "news" organization.

"While the White House is certainly entitled to its opinion concerning Fox News, it is not entitled to selectively apply the Constitution – especially the freedom of the press," wrote Boggs. "Of the five networks that make up the White House press pool, Fox News has by far the most conservative editorial content. As a result, the White House is under constant scrutiny and criticism by the hosts of editorial programs like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. On the news front, Fox News tries as hard has any news organization to report the facts of every situation or event, seeking to live up to another of its catch phrases, 'We report, you decide,'" Boggs wrote.

He explained there are differences between a news report and the commentary articles that express opinion and contain criticism.

WND, launched in 1997, is one of the oldest Internet publications and reports on a wide variety of news events to a readership estimated at eight million.

The lawsuit contends, "Most of the officers and directors of the WHCA are of a liberal bent and feel great kinship with the Obama administration and are thus prone to do its bidding."

The complaint seeks specific performance of the contract that resulted when the association took the payment from WND, and "actual and compensatory damages in excess of $10 million USD for harm to its business and other relationships."

"We've been through this kind of treatment by the Washington press corps in the past," Farah noted. "We've grown to expect it, despite the fact that we are the oldest independent national online news source on the Net, despite the fact that our White House press correspondent is the third most veteran member of those covering the White House and despite the fact that we always play by the rules."

Farah said the White House press corps and the correspondents association have shown nothing but antipathy for New Media enterprises like WND in general and even more disdain for those who subscribe to the traditional role of the American press as a vigorous watchdog on government.

Dating back to February 2002, WND was denied accreditation to the Senate Press Gallery for routine access to cover the Capitol. Ten days after WND threatened legal action against individual members of the Senate Press Gallery, WND was granted accreditation in September 2002.

"This is an illustration of what some call the 'government-media complex' or the 'state-sponsored media,'" says Farah. "It's one thing when you have to battle government secrecy and corruption, which we expect to do as part of our jobs as newsmen. It's another thing when you have to battle your own colleagues who act like self-appointed press cops, blocking independent media from doing the job they refuse to do."

The same day as the dinner, WND senior reporter Aaron Klein is also planning
to launch a new book investigating Obama entitled, "The Manchurian
President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other
Anti-American Extremists." Klein was planning to attend the dinner to
discuss his book with administration officials.

The correspondents' group explains on its website that it "represents the White House press corps in its dealings with the administration on coverage-related issues."

An elected board of directors addresses issues of access to the president, work space arrangements, logistics and costs for press travel to travel with the president.

Listed on the website as board members are Doug Mills of the New York Times, Steve Scully of C-SPAN, Don Gonyea of National Public Radio, Julie Mason of the DC Examiner and Caren Bohan of Reuters.

Joseph Farah and Larry Klayman are both available for press interviews. Please e-mail WND with your request.