Open Letter To David Gregory, NBC, and all American Journalists

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Documents requested in the Mark Sanford debacle have revealed this correspondence between Meet the Press host David Gregory and Sanford’s staff:

Look, you guys have a lot of pitches.. I get it and I know this is a tough situation… Let me say just this is a place to have a wider conversation with some context about not just the personal but also the future for him and the party… This situation only exacerbates the issue of how the GOP recovers when another national leader suffers a setback like this. So coming on Meet the Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to… and then move on. You can see you have done your interview and then move on. Consider it.

Is this what Mr. Gregory considers journalism?  The American people deserve an apology for this display of utter brown-nosing, pandering, and overt bias on Mr. Gregory’s part.  This is an insult to Tim Russert, and in the context of this weekend’s loss of the great Walter Cronkite, an insult to all those who once considered news to be about getting to the truth, not currying favor with the powerful.

NBC, Meet the Press, and David Gregory should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.  The American people deserve better.

Where is our apology, Mr. Gregory?

UPDATE: Mr. Gregory was kind enough to respond to my email, clarifying his remarks:

Thanks for the email. I wasn’t promising a friendly forum. I was offering a fair forum to discuss his problems. I meant my forum allows him to have the time to discuss the situation in a fullsome way, to say what he wants and move on. I appreciate your sensitivity on this. It’s a fair question to ask. I have never pulled punches in an interview.

Thanks.

David.
David Gregory
Moderator, Meet the Press
NBC News

So take from that what you will.

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21 thoughts on “Open Letter To David Gregory, NBC, and all American Journalists”

  1. I found this at a site with which I was more familiar. My first question about this e-mail, was how was it obtained? It seems, according to DU, “The Charleston Post and Courier has posted online (pdf) all 570 pages of emails obtained from the office of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.” So this was part of a FOIA request.

    David Gregory should only apologize in his resignation announcement!

  2. My understanding is that yes, these emails were obtained by various SC newspapers under FOIA requests.

    Unbelievable really that newsmen and government spokespersons would be this stupid in leaving such information out in the open for public consumption.

    And I agree. David Gregory should resign over this. It’s an unbelievable breach of what should be the code of ethics guiding all journalists, but even more so for those as high up the ladder as Gregory.

  4. I’ll give him credit for at least responding to my email. Ultimately, there’s no way to know how he would have treated Mark Sanford given that the interview never took place.

    • David Gregory has done a terrible job on MTP — hell, Tim Russert was doing a crappy job as well.

      Gregory (aka Dances with Rove) is a sorry excuse for a journalist, and Walter Cronkite would be hanging his head in shame at the state of his profession. Now it’s been proven exactly what kind of hack he is. Never pulled a punch in an interview? Ha!

      Resign immediately, Mr Gregory.

  5. Gregory was willing to trade access on his show in exchange for an opportunity to “frame the conversation how you really want to…and then move on”. That’s not impartial, it is preferential. Did he offer anything of the sort to Eliot Spitzer? I doubt it.

    • I didn’t realize you were still here, Big Blue. I added it for you.

      No worries! I know what tags help bring in the views, and I think your post needs some viewing. :)

  7. In general, are we more concerned about the categories these are filed under or their tags. Because we have about a zillion categories, which makes it hard to navigate them and leaves one unsure whether they’ve categorized them correctly.

    Tags, though, are a simpler matter.

  10. I got up early to watch Meet The Press this morning, the British Open having pre-empted This Week, and Gregory is treating Kathleen Sebelius like a hostile witness in a trial. It is clear that Davy’s corporate masters have insisted that he attempt to discredit Obama’s goals in the healthcare debate. All he is focused on is the costs, with no concern for the welfare of people.

    The style of questioning completely changes when Mitch McConnell comes on after the break. Gone is the rapid-fire pace, the interrupting just as a valid point is made. Instead we are all relaxed now. McConnell is allowed to finish all his sentences, and follow up on statements with calm “reasons” why Obama’s plan can’t possibly work, plus get in shots at the auto companies helped by the government through bankruptcy. Not a word is spoken about the millions of dollars being spent by health insurance and big pharma to scuttle meaningful improvements, or who is taking that money. McConnell gets to opine on every Republican talking point on the agenda for the day. There is no equity here.
    We used to have Russert Watch at Huffington Post every Sunday. Rachel Sklar taught me much about watching these shows more critically than I did for years. Thanks Rachel.

    • BB, you are kicking some Dick Gregory ass!

      Will you still hang around the little people when Gregory resigns in disgrace? ;)

  13. BB, you are kicking some Dick Gregory ass!

    Do you mean “David”? Or do you simply mean that Gregory is a “Dick”? :)

    ‘Cause Dick Gregory is kinda cool.

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