On the Record

In the good old days -- when there were rules and there were people who knew the rules, and they taught the rules to new people, who then followed the rules -- there were basically three levels of discussion between reporters and sources:

-- On the Record
-- On Background
-- Off the Record

This is a good topic for discussion because the Attorney General of these United States, Eric Holder is participating in an Obama Administration-wide charm offensive with the national media in an effort to try and get back to what President Obama considers to be the normal state of affairs: The press fawning over his every word, and every deed.

Unless you have been in Malawi or Zambia for the past few months you know that scandals are cascading over this White House like a storm surge over Carolina barrier islands.

Benghazi; the IRS; the AP; and James Rosen are the big four but there is a looming issue at the Department of Health and Human Services that is getting scant attention only because everyone hates the IRS and most of us think that wiretapping regular citizens doing their legal jobs is not a good thing.

CBS.com's Jake Miller summed up the Holder plan as follows:

In an effort to tamp down the continued furor over the Justice Department's surveillance of journalists as part of a leak investigation, Attorney General Eric Holder was scheduled to meet this week with the Washington bureau chiefs of major news organizations to chart a path forward for leak probes that safeguards the freedom of the press while protecting American national security.

Problem is, Holder's people want these meetings to be off the record.

Now, back to the rules. CONTINUE READING