White House Press Corps--No Wonder the Press Has Low Honesty/Ethics Ratings

It was funny today to hear all the hullabaloo among the White House Press corps as they grilled Scott McClellan over Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident. One would think this was Watergate. Over and over again the question was asked to Scott McClellan "When did you know?", "When did the President know?" As though this were 9/11 or something the armed services or National Guard should be called out on. McClellan's answer on questions about details was to check with (SURPRISE!) the source--the Vice President's office.

Why the reporters didn't think of that says something about their lack of professionalism and their political agenda.

Then the White House Press Corps was upset that the news of the accident was told to the local press by the owner of the ranch where the man accidentally shot. Horrors! A local newspaper got the scoop over these big time reporters. Maybe if they travelled with the Vice President or at least sent a pool reporter, they would find these things out first hand. However, even if they did, White House reporters don't seem to get that this is merely a special interest story--not something that should be leading the news. Here's NBC's David Gregory:

GREGORY: The vice president of the United States shoots a man, and he feels that it's appropriate for a ranch owner who witnessed this to tell a local Corpus Christi newspaper, not the White House press corps at large or notify the public in a national way.

All that's lacking is for David Gregory to call for a 9/11-type investigation. Get a grip David!

No wonder reporters keep getting low scores on honesty and ethics. They rate lower than funeral directors, bankers and accountants.

Honesty and Ethical Ratings of People in Different Professions,
2005 Gallup Poll

...............% Very high/...................% Low/
...................High.........% Average......Very Low
Nurses.............82..............15...................3
Druggists/.......67..............28...................4
Pharmacists
Medical...........65...............31...................4
doctors
High school.....64...............27..................7
teachers
Policemen........61..............31...................8
Clergy..............54..............35...................8
Funeral............44..............42...................8
directors
Bankers............41..............48..................10
Accountants.....39..............51..................7
Journalists....28.............44.................27
Real estate........20..............58.................20
agents
Building............20..............58.................19
contractors
Lawyers............18..............46.................35
Labor union......16..............43.................35
leaders
Senators............16..............48................35
Business............16..............52................30
executives
Stockbrokers.....16..............56................23
Congressmen.....14..............44................41
Advertising........11..............50................35
practitioners
Car salesmen.......8...............41................49
Telemarketers.....7...............31................60

[emphasis mine]

What's interesting in this poll is not only where the Press placed but the percentage of low/very low evaluations they got--27%. Their favorable rating was 28%--only 1% higher!

With the White House press corps performance today, journalists can only bolster their well-earned reputation as basically untrustworthy. Not to mention incompetent when their political agenda shows even on such minor issues as a hunting accident. They obviously have no idea how their anger and pettiness plays to the American public. They need to read their polls at least as closely as they read the President's.