SF Chronicle: White House Threatened Ban Over Video

A messy media flap between the White House and San Francisco Chronicle: The newspaper says the White House threatened to ban its reporter because she shot video of a Bradley Manning protest during a fundraiser. Reporter Carla Marinucci was the pool reporter for the dinner, meaning she was supposed to provide a written report to other reporters. She did so, but she also shot the video, and Chronicle editor Ward Bushee says the White House threatened to retaliate against her and the Hearst chain.

The video ban "is objectionable and just is not in sync with how reporters are doing their jobs these days," says Bushee. After the White House told Politico that it never threatened to revoke Marinucci's privileges, Bushee and Chronicle columnist Phil Bronstein stood by their accusations and said they came from top White House communications officials in off-the-record exchanges. "The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its analog roots," writes Bronstein. "And maybe even some hypocrisy highlights." (More San Francisco Chronicle stories.)