After the man from the Chamber of Commerce comes in and deems it a fraudulent press conference, and tells everyone that that man is not from the Chamber of Commerce, an apparently irritated and incurious journalist asks
Are you interrupting a press conference?" (Yes). "Can we finish the [unintelligible]? I'm on a deadline here."
Wow. Really? You're in a press conference. A man bursts in and claims it's a fraud. That is a story. Real journalists would immediately ask, "Is this a fraud? Who is the real Chamber Dude? Who is telling the truth here? If it is a fraud, why is it being held? If it isn't, who is this other dude? Why did he interrupt?
Who? What? Why? (I actually did take a journalism class once.)
No, first reaction is, "Can we finish? I'm on a deadline!"
Why? Because the guy in the front of the room is saying what they want to hear, and it's a big scoop. A reversal of position. An endorsement of cap & trade.
Same reason the fake Rush Limbaugh quotes were eagerly passed along as facts. Same reason CBS's fake Bush TNG memos were put out there for consumption. They tell the story most journalists already want to tell, so they won't be questioned.
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