Al Gore has banned coverage of an event again, this time in our neighboring South Dakota. Gore joined the Columbia School of Journalism as a lecturer in 2001 after his loss to George Bush and placed a gag order on his students, an ironic twist for students steeped in First Amendment principles. Now Gore has excluded journalists and TV cameras from his appearance at Augustana College for his latest lecture on the environment (via TMV):

Reporters and TV news cameras will be banned from almost all of former Vice President Al Gore's appearance Jan. 23 in Sioux Falls.

Gore is the Boe Forum speaker at Augustana College and plans a talk called "Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century."

Kalee Kreider, a Gore staffer in Nashville, confirmed by e-mail that news media will be asked to leave his talk after the introduction and that Gore will not hold a press conference.

Gore has agreed to meet with college and high school students before the speech, said Arthur Huseboe, executive director of Augustana's Center for Western Studies, which sponsors the forum.

One would think that anyone lecturing on "inconvenient truths" would want that message to receive the widest possible dissemination. However, apparently Gore plans on saying something for which he does not want to be held accountable, especially since the former VP is rumored to be considering another run at the Presidency. Supposedly the objection has to do with copyright concerns, but even a speech to a closed hall would violate copyrights if Gore did not have permission to use such material.

How many other Boe Forum speakers have barred press coverage of their appearances? According to Augustana, only Queen Noor of Jordan refused to allow the media to cover the event. Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush both allowed it, putting Gore in a position to have the same accessibility to the media as the wife of a Middle Eastern king -- not exactly the most flattering company to keep.

My friend Joe Gandelman at TMV -- which everyone should have on their blogroll and in their feedreader, by the way -- says that Gore has taken a page from George W Bush in this decision. That seems a little unfair ... to Bush. I don't recall ever hearing of Bush refusing to allow media coverage of a public event, and Gore has now done it twice. I do agree with Joe that it confirms the tone-deafness of the former Vice-President and again demonstrates why no one but the most ardent activists will take him seriously for another presidential run.

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» Al Gore Takes A Page From George Bush’s Book from The Moderate Voice
Has Former Vice President Al Gore now taken a page from President George Bush’s bad p.r. book? Those of us who decried the tight control of crowds and press coverage of the Bush campaign and administration cannot condone this: Reporters and TV n... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2007 12:22 PM

» Gore Speaks Behind Closed Doors from eCache
Captain Ed takes Al Gore to task for refusing media coverage of a speech Gore is giving at Augustana College Al Gore has banned coverage of an event again, this time in our neighboring South Dakota. . . . apparently Gore plans on saying something for w... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2007 12:46 PM

» Snickering from Eccentricity
At Captain's Quarters I read how the perfidious Al Gore would not permit the press at lectures he was giving. I rather look forward to Captin Ed linking to the posts he wrote about how "Mr. Justice" Scalia did not permit journalistic coverage when ... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2007 5:23 PM

» Snickering from Eccentricity
At Captain's Quarters I read how the perfidious Al Gore would not permit the press at lectures he was giving. I rather look forward to Captin Ed linking to the posts he wrote about how "Mr. Justice" Scalia did not permit journalistic coverage when ... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2007 5:37 PM