Link to the Show / Show NotesHelen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps discusses her new book Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.
In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Thomas has witnessed a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of frequent firsthand contact with the president. Now, the press sees the president only at tightly controlled and orchestrated press conferences. In addition, Thomas sees a growing — and alarming — reluctance among reporters to question government spokesmen and probe for the truth.
Thomas is probably best known to political watchers as the long-time White House Correspondent for United Press International, sitting front and center at Presidential press conferences for decades. She has covered the daily White House beat for every President since John F. Kennedy and now writes a syndicated column for Hearst Newspapers where she has emerged as a vocal critic of President George W. Bush.
Recorded August 1, 2006
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