Opinion

White House's propaganda ploy

President Obama and family listened to former prisoner Ahmed Kathrada during their tour of Robben Island Prison in Cape Town, South Africa, in June. President Obama and family listened to former prisoner Ahmed Kathrada during their tour of Robben Island Prison in Cape Town, South Africa, in June. Photo: Pete Souza, Pete Souza/The White House Photo: Pete Souza, Pete Souza/The White House Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close White House's propaganda ploy 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

No self-respecting news organization would ever run the text of a news release verbatim from the White House - or from any public official or government agency, for that matter. And no spin doctor with any sense or experience would expect his or her words to be printed without the additional filters of background and balance.

A White House has every right to offer its most flattering interpretation of a president's actions and persona, but this nation was founded on the notion that Americans are not dependent on the people in power to control the reality that is served to the masses.

Yet the Obama White House has increasingly crossed the line between public relations and state propaganda in its treatment of still photographs and video.

Time and again, the White House has blocked or limited access to the president by photojournalists, only to later release decidedly positive images of Obama taken by White House photographers.

In some of those cases, the White House had claimed an event was private or in quarters too cramped to allow a photographer. But that did not stop the White House from memorializing the moment with its own taxpayer-funded shooter - and releasing the photograph for widespread consumption on social media.

The suppression of access reached the point that a coalition of news organizations recently sent a letter of protest to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

"Journalists are routinely being denied the right to photograph or videotape the president while he is performing his official duties," the major news organizations wrote. "As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist's camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government."

The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" may actually understate the impact of images in politics.

CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl has often told the story of how she was bracing for the White House chill treatment after a 1984 story about the contradictions between what President Ronald Reagan said and did. It contrasted scenes of his staged events, such as visiting a nursing home and the Special Olympics, with his policies. Much to Stahl's surprise, a top White House official gushed over the piece.

"When the pictures are powerful and emotional, they override if not completely drown out the sound," Richard Darman told Stahl. "I mean it, Lesley. Nobody heard you."

Obama's image makers are certainly clear on the concept. Some of the most powerful and emotional images of his presidency were shot by a White House photographer at events at which media access was denied.

This trend started right after Obama was sworn into office, when a do-over with Chief Justice John Roberts was performed outside the view of still and video photographers. It has escalated to the point that New York Times photographer Doug Mills and members of the White House Correspondents' Association Board met with Carney on Oct. 29 with a stack of photos in which the White House photographer was given exclusive access.

"You guys," Mills said, "are just like Tass."

This is yet another example of where the Obama administration has failed to live up to its pledge as the most transparent in history.

Some news organizations, including The Chronicle, will run official White House photographs only in rare and extenuating circumstances, such as when Obama and his national-security team were gathered in the White House Situation Room during the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

It takes a certain hubris for an administration to think it can control what the public sees of newsworthy events, such as Obama meeting with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton or swimming with daughter Sasha in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill to show the water was safe.

Hubris, yes. It also takes a disdain for true transparency.