FEMA Apologizes for 'Error in Judgment'

As my colleague, Eric Schulzke, noted earlier, FEMA has come under fire for staging a phony press conference. One of the few benefits of insomnia is that I get to check out late breaking developments, and tonight, ABC News is reporting that FEMA's deputy director, Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson, in a written statement, apologized for what he called an "error in judgment."

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino denounced the charade as "...a bad way to handle it." The report did not say whether Perino fielded questions from Jeff Gannon or Karen Ryan.

Now, an "error in judgment" is when a receiver catches the ball on a short-hop and you call it a completion. This, however, seems to be more like a calculated attempt by FEMA to recover some of its tarnished image and avoid tough questions. Worthy goals, indeed, but not at the expense of the First Amendment. I discussed earlier this week the ramifications of government manipulation of the press.

While FEMA's apology seems weak, the White House's reaction is expectedly comical. An administration famous not only for the aforementioned Gannon and Ryan, but also for manipulating the media using news leaks, and for having in Fox News what many people view as a latter-day Tass, the condemnation rang hollow. I kept expecting Perino to offer them tips for next time.

Also condemning the "stunt," through a spokeswoman, was Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff. Once again, this seems to be a case of projection on the part of an agency that has come under fire for politicizing terror alerts.

PR Watch has a good rundown of other, corporate-sponsored fake news spots and the stations that run them. The state of "real" television journalism is such that it really doesn't need things like this to erode its credibility.

I expect I will receive very positive comments on this post from a reader named "Timmy Kristoffer," an avid fan of mine. I can hardly wait.

UPDATE: At his own press conference Saturday, Chertoff said of the fake presser: "I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government."