For two years the White House press corps turned a blind eye to a ringer in their midst. The ringer was James Guckert — known to them, and now to the world, as “Jeff Gannon.”
“Jeff,” as President George Bush called him at the fateful White House press conference on January 26th, turned out to be not only a fake reporter, working for a fake news agency, and operating under a false name — but he also operated web sites promoting male prostitution.
The bloggers at The Daily Kos, (one of the nation’s most popular political web sites) who led the way in exposing Guckert and the GOP front group, Talon News, will go down in the history of journalism as having significantly advanced what is being called “open source journalism.” The term “open source” derives from an element of the computer software community that seeks to make information widely accessible instead of narrowly proprietary or shrouded in mystery.
They are not only continuing their ground-breaking investigation, but they are also building a new organization — ePluribus Media — to carry it and other worthwhile investigations forward. (Full disclosure: I am honored to be among the founders of this organization.)
Meanwhile, ePluribus Media cofounder Susan Gardner and Todd Johnston have a new story published on The Daily Kos, on how Gannon’s debut in the national media coincided with the first known published review of his male escort services.
According to an ePluribus Media press release, Guckert first emerged “as conservative pit bull ‘Jeff Gannon,”‘ on Nov. 12, 2002, as author of an article published on ConservativeMonitor.com. This was the same date one of his male escort clients published a “rave review of his services,” said Gardner.
Gardner and Johnston detail Guckert’s career moves from office manager at an auto body shop in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to Washington DC-based male escort service entrepreneur and White House correspondent. His rise “was nothing short of meteoric,” Gardner said. “That this metamorphosis occurred in conjunction with his male escort business leads us to believe that the two may be connected. We are pursuing that investigation.”
The group has recently incorporated as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization and needs your help to get off the ground: ePluribus Media
[Crossposted from FrederickClarkson.com]
Wave of the future — or flash in the pan?
I will definitely promote the site and help in any and all ways. We need to build an army here.
One question: do you have anyone who might be willing to help me with some press releases? I don’t have any experience in drafting them.
thanks, B. We are all in this together.
And yeah, there is a PR team, at least some of whom have experience with press releases. I’ll make your need known to them.
Could be you have a few loyal BT readers who have those skills too.
(and btw, my intrepid web designer is at work on my site update, where BT will be among the links. May be finished tonight.)
all good news. Thanks, FC.
I witnessed the evolution of your investigation from the beginning, and I continue to be impressed with your achievements. As someone with a background in securities fraud investigations, I couldn’t believe you’d be able to pull it off through open-source, and you’ve proven me wrong time and again.
Congratulations and best wishes with your venture. You’re making a real name for yourselves. (Excellent piece by Susan Gardner today – kudos!)
I can’t claim any of the credit for the remarkable investigative work of the hundreds of bloggers. My contributions have been in other areas.
I believe this is the ‘wave of the future’ especially as it appears that MSM and journalists have abdicated their responsibility as real journalists or reporters. They are now in the ratings business.
Given the report that the National Press Club has actually invited Gannon to be on a panel with other ‘so called’ reporters this would appear to have nailed the lid on their coffin as anyone taking them seriously. That’s simply insane on their part.
I think open source will become a force to be reckoned with and replace media ratings ‘journalism’. And I for one can’t wait to see this unfold.
weird. I feel sorta guilty recommending this, on account of being attached to the project. but we really are going to need some dough soon. thanks for posting this FC, and thanks for supporting it BooMan.
If the leaders and participants won’t ask.. who will?
with out a doubt…the propaganda in the MSM on TV is so revolting I can barely watch it anymore..It is amazing the Bullshit they put out there and how one sided it is becoming….It is pathetic that Michael Schiavo feels he needs to have an autopsy just to prove to the world that his wife is in a PVS, and is not talking, laughing, crying and saying “IIII waaaaaaa toooooo…….” And the slander that is allowed in trying to destroy peoples lives…TV is becoming the little box that destroyed the world.
this Shiavo thing is such a travesty, on so huge of a scale, that it is actually going to change the cultural landscape a bit.
It has rendered TV news unwatchable, my favorite websites temporarily unreadable, and has shown politicians and religious fanatics in their worst possible light.
Nothing could be better for those who don’t want to cover that tripe than such an assualt on the sensibilities of ordinary Americans </rant>
We’re even getting an update on the case in our TV news every night in Australia. I wish it would go away…
documenting Gannon is worth more than documenting the political motives of the rightwing zealots in the Schiavo spectacle?
Personally, I find the Gannon/Guckert story to be interesting but ineffective for political gain.
the Schiavo episode is akin to the Elian Gonzalez episode. I live in a city and spent last year working very hard for Kerry in a poor, black, violent part of Philadelphia.
There are hundreds of tragedies happening every day that are more heart-rending, more filled with ethical quandaries…than this Schiavo story.
But no one reports what happens in the ghetto.
Schiavo is not a story. Elian Gonzolez was not a story. The only thing to document about it is just how pathetic we all are to pay attention to it.
Gannon/Guckert is a major story. The real truth behind Guckert has not been exposed. If it is, the scandal will dwarf l’affair Lewisnky.
At least, that is my prediction.
is a non sequitur.
Gannon/Guckert is a major story. The real truth behind Guckert has not been exposed. If it is, the scandal will dwarf l’affair Lewisnky.
Unless you have Laura Bush on national TV swearing that GW paid Guckert for personal favors, the story is a dead end.
We agree to disagree.
disagreeing is normal.
Elian Gonzalez is similar because it involves an ordinary family dispute being catapulted into a metaphor for one of the nation’s most emotionally charged and divisive issues.
Elian was more specific to southern Florida than the nation as a whole, but it followed the same formula.
Even in Miami, Elian’s saga has had very little lasting effect.
Schiavo’s only lasting effect will be increased cynicism toward the press and our politicians. But the issue itself will be forgotten soon enough.
No one will gain any decisive political advantage.
Whereas Guckert is an untold story. The truth behind Guckert’s rise is definitely one of the great mysteries. But we cannot know just how many people would be destroyed by that truth coming out…unless it comes out.
It has the potential power to rock the whole country in the same way Lewinsky did. It may not seem like it now, because we haven’t broken the story yet. But a break-in at the Watergate seemed small to most people too. However, close observors knew instantly that the truth behind it, if ever revealed, would shake the world.
I will help out some, but I absolutely refuse to put any “card” info online. It’s a security issue with me, as I have personally been through the ID theft ordeal, and believe me, you can not understand what it can do, until you’ve walked MANY miles in those moccasins.
If there is a phone number and a real person on the other end of the line, you can email me, (in my profile) and I will contribute.
Thank you for your time and efforts on this issue.
Following developments closely and give support.
However on SusanG’s diary, also some critical thoughts came forward, I can agree with some:
A single disagreement …
I will publish some tangent research topics on GOPUSA here at BT.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
I understand your concerns with “going after” the little guy, while Rome is burning as we type. From my perspective, that’s the only way to get anywhere with this type of investigation. The most effective (only?) way to launch something such as this is to start at the bottom of the food chain with Gannon, research every nook and cranny of his past, and move up the ladder with the connections. I didn’t perceive Gannon to be the ultimate focus – just the starting point.
If the ePluribus team started with Rove – or anyone in a true position of power – the investigation would go nowhere because those individuals are connected to pretty much everyone in both parties through their lengthy political careers. Careers that followed specific paths related to politics. Gannon is a blatent anomaly in the whole equasion – with no history of journalism or politics. He therefore presents a logical starting point to connect the dots.
The diary on Rove is perhaps the ultimate and final piece of the puzzle. My meaning is to move up the ladder somewhat quicker, especially all the GOPUSA Board members whose BIO’s were erased immediately upon exposure of JG as James Gückert.
Strict analysis of SusanG’s last diary and the comments by the dKos community as to valuable new input is naught.
The speed and collectiveness in OPEN SOURCE investigation of late January, early February has gone away. No offense intended, the team has always my support and appreciation. I do recommend and attach my Kudos appropriately.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
FWIW, I intended to follow your line of thinking. In responding to your comment, I inadvertently erased your subject line of “single disagreement” and erroneously replaced it with “little disagreement”. (Which I assume made it appear that I disagreed with you, when in fact I did not – I was only adding to your reference of the linked commentary.)
I truly had no intention of turning any tables – that’s simply not my style. And I genuinely regret any misunderstanding that took place as a result of my last comment. Just thought I was adding my innocuous $.02.
Peace
I want to thank everyone here at Booman for their support. I think there is great potential for collaboration.
And props to Fred for bringing this here to this community.
Booman, let’s talk about your up-thread ideas.
NYBri at epluribusmedia dot org