As the media filed into the stately White House East Room on Monday night, Hazel Edney, a reporter with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (also known as the Black Press of America) was shocked to find herself in the front row. Alongside her were the top news agencies, Associated Press, Reuters; also up front, 86-year-old Helen Thomas, who started covering presidents 50 years ago.
“I really don’t know why I’m up here,” Miss Cross said with a shy smile. While most on the front row got to pose a question to President Obama, the two reporters from the black press did not. Nor did any other black-press reporter, for that matter.
“This was like Reagan, when he’d put all the blacks up front,” said another prominent but visibly peeved black-press reporter who asked to remain anonymous. “He oughta’ be ashamed.”
Imagine the grief Ronald Reagan would get if he put blacks at the back of the room.
The difference, Hazel, was that the black press bashed Reagan (even though his policies grew the black middle class) and he still gave them a front row seat. Barack Obama relied on the fawning praise of the black media and look what it got ya.
Remember the whole thing about Democrats taking the black vote for granted. What made you think things would “change”?
“Remember the whole thing about Democrats taking the black vote for granted. What made you think things would “change”?”
niiiiiiiiiiice, Bob. nice. I was reading half way through it, thinking “What’s so bad about being at the front?”. I was thinking of a Rosa Parks analogy, and the black reporter now being at the FRONT instead of the back..strange how she and none her colleagues were asked for a question..makes me think it’s also the “double standard of the day” or something…
“While most on the front row got to pose a question to President Obama, the two reporters from the black press did not. Nor did any other black-press reporter, for that matter.”
You don’t go to church to question.