Truth and Lies

There is a tab on the White House website that will direct you to press briefing transcripts. It is a tradition as old as the American democracy: Every day, the president’s spokesperson, an adviser, or even the president himself answers the questions of accredited journalists. Everything that is said in the room is “on the air,” meaning that it may be broadcast all over the world right away. Each word is published online so that any Internet user, wherever they are in the world, may access these transcripts.

In the U.K., the same Q-and-A exercise takes place twice a day with journalists accredited to “10 Downing Street.”

There is nothing like that in France, Natalie Nougayrède — our colleague at Le Monde in charge of foreign affairs matters — explained on the media analysis TV program “Arrêt Sur Images.” It is available on the website of the same name and hosted by Daniel Schneidermann.

She explained that, even though France plays an important role in the Libyan crisis, journalists only have access to complicated press conferences at the Quai d’Orsay and the Minister of Defense. As the president’s spokesperson position was cut in 2008, it is impossible to obtain any live political comments “on the air” about the ongoing action.

Last week, during the Quai d’Orsay’s briefing, one of the journalists asked a question about an essential point in order to know who directed the military operation. He obtained this answer: “We are currently actively working on it with our partners.” Move along, there’s nothing to see!

Go on the White House website and you will see that the spokesman, Jay Carney, has to face a real bombardment of questions every day. Natalie Nougayrède explained that “it is important that the government be held accountable for the words it utters and that it gives an explanation of the decision it has made.”

David Pujadas, who was also invited to the TV program “Arrêt Sur Image,” thought this situation showed “differences in mentalities, in cultures, between countries, and even in attitudes toward truth and lying.” Does this mean that “politicians lie in France?” Daniel Schneidermann asked. The anchorman of France 2’s newscast “20 Heures” answered that “not only do they give the spiel, but, in France, a politician who lies is not considered an extremely serious situation. Whereas in the United Kingdom or the United States, this situation cannot even be considered to exist.”

“In France, there is a tradition of no communication,” Philippe Chaffanjon, the head of France Info, added. “You can ask the foreign correspondents based in Paris about it. They cannot believe how all of this works.”

So only what is “off the air” is left to find what lies behind the political cant of the spokespeople. When there is one.