A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
It says something that Twitter -- a website where users can share messages of 140 characters or less -- has become one of the most important tools for journalists this election cycle. It says something else that the White House no longer wants reporters tweeting Vice President Joe Biden's words as they come out of his mouth.
Politico has a short piece about how the White House requested journalists refrain from reporting about a conference call with Biden yesterday until the conclusion of the conversation. As the article points out, the request could mean only one thing -- no tweeting.
The curious caveat -- who would write an article during the middle of the call? -- is a product of the post-Twitter presidential campaign, barring reporters from the beloved habit of tweeting remarks in real-time.
This is how the White House explained the decision to Politico: "The embargo will allow journalists to hear the entirety of the Vice President’s remarks and get the benefit of having their questions answered -- before trying to condense a 30-minute conference call about a 20-page NEC report into a 140 characters."
No doubt the Vice President's remarks sometimes require more than 140 characters to figure out, but here's guessing the real reason for the embargo could be explained in just five characters: g-a-f-f-e.
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Comments:
May '10
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I read that he didn't take any questions at that press conference.
Jan '11
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
How helpful of the White House to assist journalists with their interpretations!
Dec '10
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
Another win for President Transparency.
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
Yes, indeed.
Jan '11
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
My posts are only thirty chara
Re: A Post Of More Than 140 Characters
I am thankful that Ricochet provides a generous 200 words for comments even if we don't always need the full space.