Tony Snow, David Gregory on Blogs 02/20/07

02/20/07, 8PM ET. Trading Places with Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow changes places with the White House Press Corps. FULL STREAMING VIDEO, (File is Real Media format, running time is 1:04:21) During this National Press Club Newsmaker program, the former Fox news commentator poses questions to six journalists, including David Gregory, NBC News, Terry Hunt, AP, and others. Bob Schieffer, CBS News, introduces him.

White House correspondent for NBC News David Gregory:

david: i think that uh i think there's utility and i also think there is a down side and i alluded to this a moment ago. I think that politics and political coverage has become so polarized in this country, and in part because everybody,

McCurry worried about cable news with the cameras that was that seems like a hundred years ago…because it’s the internet and the blogs that have really used this White House press conferences to somehow support positions out in America, political views and they , and they ah they will clip and digitize portions of these briefings to fit into their particular argument. i think that people try to divine motives of the questioners and, and certainly draw conclusions about the uh answers or non answers ah based on their, their their own political views.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow:

you know you raised, i'm glad you raised the blog issue. because i think there'll be a kind of generational divide, ah do either of you guys look at blogs much?

third party: i write a few but i don't look at em much

tony: and my guess is this side of the room is much more of blogs, you look at blogs right?

third party: i look at blogs, i'm all for blogs, i'm all for the first amendment, i think that people should be empowered.

tony: yeah well i think what's happened is, is we've, we've got this new democratic age of the media but you're right it. actually i'll occasionally punch it up and it's amazing. you’ve got this wonderful, imaginative hateful stuff that comes flying out. I think one of the the the maybe one of the most most important takeaways is — it’s the classical line, not only should you not believe your own press, you probably shouldn’t believe your opposition blogs either.” what do you think richard.

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