European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 16, 1995 commentary i the stars and stripes Page 13chung affair pales before real sins of press a. M. Rosenthal for the american press it has been a fun few Days with Connie Chung to kick Aroi ind. And the press print and electronic was also Able to get a delicious dividend a the glow of showing that it could be real critical of journalistic practice. Chung says she thought everybody would. Know she was being playful when she Tola Newt Gingrich a. Mother that her answer about what he said about Hillary Rodham Clinton would be a Between you and  after All not Only were the Mike and camera lights on but earlier in the interview Chung and Kathleen Gingrich had jokingly Quot whispered Quot an Exchange about Gingrich being born a Yankee and Chung said she  Tell anybody. So the part about Hillary Clinton does not seem a journalistic entrapment when seen on the full tape of the broadcast As it docs on the widely shown excerpts that omitted the Quot Yankees Whis ears. Stih Kathleen Gingrich May have and no idea that the Clinton comment would be broadcast along with the rest a even though she did repeat it for the lbs american journal program a few. Days later. Anyway As the press attacks a breach of Confidence that a Little inquiry shows May not have taken place Here a a stunning thought. Maybe the episode could inspire us to look at a few malpractices we do know Are committed every Day in the year including the Peculiar ways of a new Branch of the Craft. 1 am hardly a press Flagel Lator having spent a lifetime in the news business and Blessing the Day i started but i can to pretend i do not see what i do see the exploding movement in newspapers magazines arid to toward the specialized form of garbage collection known As gossip. The a gee dad they did it first syndrome a picking up dam . Eye to Eye with., l. With aging unsubstantiated stories from Gutter press and to. The foul spread of unnecessary and deliberate cruelty and meanness. And across the country the increasing politicization of news by editorial nation in the news columns. I do not understand Why mainstream editors and publishers except those of a few circulation frantic tabloids permit any of these journalistic deformations to flourish. In time trends toward editorial nation gossip or dirt meanness Are picked up by readers and advertisers. Out the window then go the. Three Basic items that make up the Stock in Trade of a newspaper or Magazine Trust Trust Trust. Most of the things that bother me i have complained about before and will again. But something else has crept up on journalism. It is particularly dangerous to the print press but it happens on to a the networks every sunday and can every Day. On these programs specified print journalists hire out to play specified political roles. A couple always perform As the shows conservatives a couple As its liberals. They interview real politicians asking questions usually designed to make Liberal or conservative Points to put a Liberal or conservative squeeze on the guest or get a Liberal conservative screaming exhibition going panel wide. Between questions they fight among themselves giving each other Liberal or conservative digs. On the sock Mem Rock pm Liberal conservative confrontations like in no a or the Abc Mclaughlin sunday show the viewer sees print columnists and reporters surrender any acceptable journalistic Rote to cavort around flailing at each  the Clappers of their ritual political rages. Sometimes i wonder As i watch or Click away in embarrassment what the Public thinks of journalists and journalism when they see this kind of paid staged ideological Brawl. But i guess 1 know. A c now York times a Gin of new age of politics there is a sound that comes Only with great Fame. It is the Crork of motor drives going off in so Many cameras that they become a Flat continuous Buzz like a Field full of digitalized locusts. Often it is accompanied by the Low hum of nearby satellite trucks. House speaker Newt Gingrich has heard that strange chord. In scarcely More than two months he has gone from being one of the nations better known political figures to a status More on the scale of a new president or an entertainment superstar. These Days Gingrich is on camera whenever he is in Public. His Book dealing and the hiring and firing of a House historian have been major stories and the kind of offhand remarks he has been accustomed to make a about Mcgove Nicks orphanages or the like a have mushroomed into major flaps. All this and of course Connie Chung. Interest in Gingrich has spread far past the mainstream political press. The television tabloid show hard copy aired a Story about him recently. The fascination extends beyond the nation s Borders journalists from Canada Japan and other countries report he is being watched with great curiosity. A your impression is he is setting the Agenda and anything the United states does is of great interest to Australia a said Tara Leibert who is working on a documentary about Gingrich for australian radio. Gingrich has expressed astonishment at the intensity of the Media storm swirling around him a even though he spent years before last november selection calculating now to leverage Media attention to his advantage. A a it a not like Newt Wasny to savvy but you can to know the Impact of the Klieg lights until they re turned on you a said Mary Matam no stranger to the lights herself after a stint As a gop strategist then a television talk show Job and marriage to democratic consultant James Carville. Gingrich has moved quickly to Cut the damage Tom Baxter from potentially damaging stories giving Back his $4.5 million Book Advance and cutting off House historian Christina Jeffrey after her remarks about a course of study on the holocaust became known. Last week he went a step further announcing he would not appear on sunday news shows such As face the nation and meet the press for at least a month because they. Are devoted for unit picking  Gingrich generally has won Praise for his damage control but it is also True that he is a lightning Rod for controversies such As the Jeffrey affair. Its hard to predict How effective Gingrich will be in controlling the frenzy because he is in a situation new to american politics. The sort of constant intensive scrutiny he has encountered is relatively new even to presidents. For a congressional Leader it is unprecedented. George Christian who was press Secretary to president Lyndon b. Johnson believes it is not Only journalists but also politicians who have changed. Both Gingrich and Bill Clinton have courted the Media storm they have had a hard time controlling he said. A a it a a generational thing 1 think a All this conferring with motivational experts and so Forth. We re in a new age of politics and i must say its foreign to me a Christian said. Jody Powell former press Secretary to president Carter Drew a comparison Between Gingrich and Powell a former Boss. Curiosity was raised in both cases he noted because they arrived at significant positions of Power without being Well known by Many americans including the Washington Media establishment. Even White Houslin Nadia offices feel outnumbered. When the pitch of coverage gets this High Powell said. Gingrich a Media operation successful As it has been is substantially smaller. And since Carter was president he said the atmosphere has grown even tougher. A i think the press generally is More frenzied and less principled even More than it was then a Pov Ell said. Powell said Gingrich a decision to stay off news shows for a while is probably the right one. A the certainly Hasni to done himself any serious damage to this Point but that does no to mean a person in his position ought not be concerned with reducing his risks and picking his shots a Powell said. The new speaker has set a higher goal than simple damage control however. He has called on the Media. To change its ways arid begin a transformation such As the one he envisions for Congress. A just literally dump everything out of your pc and go Back and Start Oyer a Gingrich told reporters last week a i would suggest to All of you that to make it work you be got to be positive.�?�. Matalin said that in attempting to bring about such a change Gingrich has Access to outlets Clinton has not had in the form of conservative radio shows and he has lieutenants who can share the heat. A one ingenious thing he has done is to build a team that can give the message a she said. A so you la see rep. Richard Armey and rep. John Kasich on those shows and you wont have Newt to kick around for a  Gingrich May also Benefit from what Powell called a a natural settling in which attention turns Back to the . Simpson trial and other attention grabbing stories. A you can Only do so much on his kids on his Mother on his politics on his books a Matalin said. A and after a while it All just implodes of its own  Cicon news service a