NOTE:  Rahm Emanuel was a U.S. Congressman from 2002 until President Obama appointed him White House Chief of Staff when he took office. 
George Stephanopoulos started as a political analyst with ABC News in 1997 (after serving in the Clinton White House until 1996). In 2005, ABC News officially named him "Chief Washington Correspondent."

1. Why do you think ABC newsman George Stephanopoulos denied participating in conference calls with the President's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel?

2. Under "Background" below, read "The role of the White House Chief of Staff " What responsibility does the White House Chief of Staff have to suspend his daily conference calls with his good friends if they are members of the media?

3. Under "Background" below, read "The role of the media" and the information under "The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics." What responsibility do members of the media have to suspend their daily conference calls with their good friend while he is the White House Chief of Staff?

4. Read the following "Reader Comments" that were posted in reaction to the article. With which do you agree/disagree? Explain your answers.

• "I was a reporter thirty years ago. ... I would never have considered close friendships with my news sources. Friendly relations, of course. All the better to get the story and because some of them were nice people whom I genuinely liked. But there always had to be a line of professional detachment. Some newspapers in those days moved reporters around from one beat to another to prevent them from getting too chummy with their sources. It was about credibility and public trust in what our jobs were. And that's why people are abandoning newspapers and television news today."
  
• In response to the reader comment above:
  "You say: 'I would never have considered close friendships with my news sources.'
  What would you do if it happened that someone with whom you had a close friendship became a news topic or news source? What then?"
  
• "It has been obvious for years if not decades that there has been this type of message coordination. Before cable when CBS, NBC, and ABC dominated the evening news, I was always struck by how similar their daily stories were, often using the same terminology. After it has been going on for so long and become such integral part of their daily routine, I can see how they might have momentarily let down their guard in revealing that it does indeed exist, until they suddenly realized that it might not look so good."
  
• "The only saving grace is that these bozos are preaching to the choir. Most sane people realize these networks and these "talking heads" have been, are, and will always be in the tank for Democrats. So, no big shock here."
  
• "But apart from all that, the media is objective right?"

5. Discuss this article and your answers to the questions with a parent. How do your answers compare?