This entry has been updated by a blog titled, "Romney "Pool" Reports, Part II, " to indicate that my fellow journalists are the ones who are regulating who gets pool reports on the activities of Gov. Romney on the campaign trail. The Romney campaign set up the system, but evidently is not determining who gets the information.
I was pretty excited on Monday morning to read that the Romney campaign had decided to send out "pool" press reports about what the candidate for President was doing. It would give me more Campaign 2012 information to talk about over the next three months on radio and TV, and more background with which to write about here on my blog.
I figured that there might be a hurdle or two, but I quickly sent an email to Romney's main spokesperson Andrea Saul, asking if I could be added to the list.
A little while after that, I received an email from her that had also been sent to another Romney press person, which said "Adding" - I figured that meant I had been given the thumbs-up, and would soon be receiving "pool" reports on what Gov. Romney was up to.
Boy was I wrong.
"Hi Jamie," read an email from campaign aide Rick Gorka, who made news recently with his profane outburst at reporters during Romney's recent overseas trip.
"The pool reports are reserved for the organizations participating in the pool rotation," Gorka wrote.
In other words - since I'm not covering the candidate on a daily basis, I don't get any of the up close information on what Romney is doing.
Something tells me that Mr. Gorka has never been a reporter before, because he would certainly understand how useful the pool reports are that are sent out daily by the White House.
Little bits of color, little bits of information are disseminated in those emails to reporters like myself - material which finds its way into our print stories, and our chats on the radio and television.
If I was a reporter at the Associated Press or maybe the New York Times and Wall Street Journal - or maybe one of the big broadcast networks, it would be okay to get that "pool" material.
But my employer, the Cox Media Group, with dozens of radio stations, TV stations from coast to coast and major newspapers in Ohio, Florida, Texas and Georgia isn't big enough for the Romney campaign.
It sure would be helpful to know what Romney is doing when I get on the air at my two radio stations and a TV station in Florida - or on our radio and TV stations in Ohio.
It sure would be helpful to know what Romney is doing when I go on one of our nationally syndicated radio shows.
I know I'm not a big shot - but it would be nice to get a little help to do my job.
"Let me know if you have any questions," Gorka the press aide told me by email about my "pool" report rejection notice.
Oh yeah. I have lots of questions.
How about this one.
"Is it really a big deal to let me have the Romney Pool reports by email?"
