Linda Greenhouse's Reply Brief

To follow up on our earlier post, here’s an update on L’Affaire Linda, from the Columbia Journalism Review:

Linda Greenhouse has written a letter in response to C-SPAN in which she defends herself against their accusations. In it she claims that the “issue is not one of ‘open media access to public policy discussions,'” as C-SPAN’s Terence Murphy wrote in his letter, but “one of communication and simple courtesy.”

Ignoring the question of whether she received an email warning her that C-SPAN was going to be present, Greenhouse writes, ” I learned about the plan to cover the Supreme Court panel only when I showed up and saw the cameras. Prof. Gajda told me yesterday that she had only learned at 5:00 p.m. the day before that C-Span intended to cover our panel.”

Read the rest — plus a bonus Linda Greenhouse Rap!!! — after the jump.


La Greenhouse continues:

“Some months ago, when I accepted the invitation to speak to a roomful of journalism professors, no one said anything about a nationally televised event. There is a difference between appearing before a room of 50 or so professors and speaking on national television, as I’m sure you recognize.”

Oh, but is there? In a world where, say, one (or more) of those professors might have a blog?
And then she takes on the argument that, by virtue of her past C-Span appearances, she should be estopped now from objecting:

“I did not agree to do the latter, and notwithstanding my willingness—as you note—to appear on C-Span dozens of times in the past, whether to do so remains, it seems to me, a matter in which I still have a say. I am neither a C-Span employee nor a public official. My past voluntary appearances do not give C-Span rights in perpetuity to broadcast events at which I appear, whether I agree or not. In fact, you may or may not be aware that over the years I have from time to time declined to appear at events that I had assumed were to be private when, at the last minute, I was informed that C-Span coverage was a fait accompli.”

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Diva-licious! Did the C-SPAN folks just get… (Green)housed?
In closing, we leave you with this Linda Greenhouse Rap, posted in the last thread by a commenter:

Listen up C-SPAN, you won’t televise me
I’m hard like a thug, ain’t got a face for TV
I’m here to diss the Court, and tell it like I see
Can’t be thinkin’ bout the pundits or the FCC

Me and Tony K., we used to be tight
He’d use his swing vote to fight the good fight
Now he’s cutting back Brown, overruling Dr. Miles
And he even took me off of his speed dial
I just can’t stand that kinda disrespect
Don’t tell me you stopped feelin’ my Greenhouse Effect

If I see my remarks on the ATL
I’m kill all you suckaz, send you straight to hell

The Greenhouse Effect (Updated) [Columbia Journalism Review]
Earlier: Linda Greenhouse Strikes Back (Capri Pants Sold Separately)

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