Following up on my comment Flacks will always try this on. Resist. here’s an insider’s view from
Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary to George W. Bush 2001 to 2003 …

How Washington officials bested the media

The problem with quote approval is it’s too easy. It turns the relationship between a source and a reporter entirely over to the source. And the practice has spread too far and wide. Too many staffers will speak only if their quotes are approved and too many reporters are happy to oblige.

The relationship between a source and the press will always resemble a tug-of-war. Since the early days of our republic, government officials and the media have clashed. It’s part of the ongoing, generally healthy dynamic in our noisy democracy. Over time, the ground shifts and one party gains the upper hand, only to lose it back.

Of course, the media’s focus on the trivial — see coverage of Romney’s trip to England — makes sources fight even more for control, lest a sentence be misconstrued, exaggerated and hyperfocused.

But so long as reporters allow their sources quote approval, this round has been won by the sources.

Read on at CNN

That’s a big change in role for journos. What name should we call someone who peddles flannel or talking points for their sources? ‘Churnalist’? ‘Flack’?
Here’s Cheryl Cole:

It gets worse

In fine ‘whatever is whispered in secret will be shouted from the rooftops’ style, allthingsD’s Arik Hesseldahl reports a US judge has just ordered two competing corporations, Oracle and Google, to DISCLOSE which ‘journalists’ they paid to ‘report’ on their trial…

Judge Orders Google and Oracle to Disclose Who They Paid to Write About Java Trial

In something of a peculiar turn in the nearly concluded lawsuit between Oracle and Google over the Java platform, the judge in the case has ordered both parties to disclose who they paid to cover and write about the trial.
Judge William Alsup, who presided over the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, wrote in his order that he’s “concerned that the parties and/or counsel herein may have retained or paid print or Internet authors, journalists, commentators or bloggers who have and/or may publish comments on the issues in this case.”
Google and Oracle have 10 days from today to “file a statement herein clear identifying all authors, journalists, commentators or bloggers who have reported or commented on any issues in this case and who have received money (other than normal subscription fees) from the party or its counsel during the pendency of this action.”

Read on at allthingsD

Propagandists?

– P