I have been told that a(closed to the public)press conference was held some time ago where the president told the press (possibly media?) to keep alid on the Y2K issue for fear of panicing the public and creating a run on the banks. The way the press and media are handling Y2K certainly seems to back up this rumor. Can anyone out there put their finger on that article for me? I am on a Y2K task force and would sure like to have a copy of that article!

-- Beverley Bonner (bevbon@hawaiian.net), August 11, 1999

Answers

Seriously.......don't you think if any such press conference ever took place there wouldn't be a horde of reporters trampling over each other to be the first ones to reveal that the conference took place!

They would all turn down the 'Pullitzer Prize' story of the year because they all love and respect the president so much......ya, right.....

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), August 11, 1999.

Oh, I am so sure this happened. Clinton has so much power over the media that he can silence anything. Like he silenced Monicagate, Fostergate, Chinagate, etc... No we didnt here a word about any of this for the last few years. Clinton is soooooo powerfull.

Let this rumour fester a few more days and I am sure worldnetdaily or y2knewswire will invent something to back up the story.

-- foil hat man (foilhatman@ryenoldswrap.com), August 11, 1999.

What really did happen will not be known, nor made public.

In the first two weeks of february this year - right before Clinton and the media hyped up the Kosovo War and started the bombing campaign - he held a very specific _and publicized_ series of "closed door" off-the-record briefings with the Washington Press corps. Yes, they were held, and yes Craig - the press DID NOT tell anybody what was said or what was promised if the press followed the adminstration's requirements.

We DO absolutely know that honest by admittedly "hostile" press agents of the administration were deliberately excluded: among them Drudge, Limbaugh's rep, World Net Daily, CBN, The 700 club, etc. I don't however have a specific attendee list of each different briefing, nor a list of what was said - obviously.

We also know that the ONLY thing the Washington mass media craves is recognition from their friends in Washington - which requires access to the administration, and access to other media; and access to "new" news - which in turn requires "access" and "cooperation" from the administration.

This adminstration returns calls and feeds information to members of the "cooperative" press - most often timing this to meet their criteria: bad news is leaked to the western press (usually LA Times) late in the news day in the Eastern Time on a Friday. This gets the "news" out, but in print where it will be ignored by the eastern media, and can be ignored then as "old news" on the Monday news shows. (Been done dozens of time during the hearings and impeachment.)

So - you have your answers - yes, it could have been discussed, and the strategy fully planned. The news media has deliberately chosen not to tell what was discussed, in order to keep in the graces of the administration, and in order to better serve the news media's own agenda, access and profits.

___

Having said that - I don't think y2k came up, nor do I think it was emphasized for long (other than "it will be okay, keep your money in the banks, the religious fundementalist nut-case wackos are digging holes in the cellar", standard Eastern liberal drivel issued when they know they aren't going to be being quoted....)

With the audience Clinton had - after 18 months of refusing to meet the Press since the Monica headlines broke - he would probably only cover the upcoming Kosovo War, and tell them what he wanted to cover on that issue.

This adminstration can only spin one poll at a time. Y2K is too far off.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), August 11, 1999.

Feds Plan Y2K Spin Control (26-Jan-1999)
White House Fears Y2K Panic (18-Feb-1999)

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), August 11, 1999.