Jesse and the Jackals



March 3, 2001



BOB GARFIELD: Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura hates the press and he doesn't care who knows it. Although he did change his mind this week about forcing reporters to wear press credentials identifying themselves as "official jackals," he hasn't really let up. This week at the National Press Club in Washington he said he wasn't going to spend a single dollar on his next campaign. After making that news, he added that all the other governors were meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. I hope Minnesota doesn't suffer because I jumped in with a bed of jackals, he said. From Minnesota Public Radio, Michael Khoo prepared this review of the titanic battle between The Body and the press corps.

MICHAEL KHOO: Before we get started, an admission: I'm one of the so-called "jackals" of Minnesota's capital press corps with my own by now infamous "jackal pass." The governor's change of heart makes the badge no more than a curious memento these days, but it wasn't always so, as Ventura made clear during his first press conference after distributing the badges.

JESSE VENTURA: By the way, I noticed that only a few people are wearing their credentials today. Congratulations for having a sense of humor -- [LAUGHTER] for those that do -- and to those that don't, go stick your head in the mud. [LAUGHTER]

MICHAEL KHOO: You would need a sense of humor, at the very least, to wear the credential. It features a full body photo of The Body wagging his finger at the camera. In the corner it contains the reporter's name, organization and the label "official jackal." Several news organizations including Minnesota Public Radio instructed their reporters not to wear the passes, calling them unnecessary and unprofessional. Some also objected to a warning that the governor's office could revoke the passes at any time for any reason. Ventura, in his familiar blustery style, took to the air waves to fight back. [MUSIC UNDER]

JESSE VENTURA: Well we're gonna jump right in -- good morning everyone, it's a...

MICHAEL KHOO: Ventura once was a "jackal" himself, hosting a daily radio call in program. As governor he now broadcasts a weekly show -- Lunch with the Governor. It's his opportunity to connect with Minnesota voters, as his promo puts it, un-edited, un-filtered, and un-abashed. On a recent program the governor daydreamed about calling a press conference but not inviting reporters. Only cameramen, he said, and presumably camerawomen, could ask questions.

JESSE VENTURA: You never hear the cameramen complaining. In fact quite often you see them laughing, cause I always feel, you know, they, they understand my mode of entertainment. You know? I think the cameramen are by far brighter than the reporters.

MICHAEL KHOO: The capital press corps may beg to differ. St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter Jim Ragsdale has covered four governors in more than ten state legislative sessions. He says reporters aren't as thin-skinned as the governor may think but that the governor's credential was the straw that broke the "jackals'" back.

JIM RAGSDALE: I, I think it is more the culmination of two years of extreme difficulty trying to be fair to him, trying to walk the line, trying to tell people what he's doing, trying to give hi the benefit of the doubt and constantly being shut out, constantly being blown off when I ask reasonable questions.

MICHAEL KHOO: In fact, on the same day Ventura backed down on requiring the passes he stormed out of a press conference after a reporter interrupted him. The governor's relationship with the press has been rocky throughout his two years in office. Before that, on the campaign trail, Ventura was more accessible and his shoestring operation found free publicity in newspaper, radio and television reports. Now Ventura says the media sensationalized their coverage, and he says they distort his image and his policies. A recent headline in the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Ventura's budget would cut education funding. In fact, the governor's budget increases that funding, but not as much as some educators feel is necessary. The governor says the paper's correction was too little, too late.

JESSE VENTURA: People still today are coming up to me in Minnesota saying why are you cutting education? Because the damage was done. The damage was put into that public's mind through a headline in the paper.

MICHAEL KHOO: The governor's list of reporters' sins is a long one, even blaming the media for the dismal ratings of the XFL Football League for which Ventura provides color commentary. Ventura implied reporters have a personal grudge against WWF impresario Vince McMahon, co-found of the XFL. The Pioneer Press's Ragsdale says he found the governor's theory quote "amazing."

JIM RAGSDALE: I'm not saying that we don't commit sins, but surely we commit them sort of like referees do. We [LAUGHS] - you know - we make mistakes, but we spread them around, and he is somehow the only politician who is offended and who is harmed!

MICHAEL KHOO: The offense, apparently, runs both ways, which brings us back to the press credentials. Several reporters felt the passes were an attempt to control or limit access to the chief executive and cited the "revoke for any reason" clause. Ventura spokesman John Wodles says he wasn't prepared for that reaction, particularly what he calls the high and mighty tone.

JOHN WODLES: Well I was insulted to think that these organizations would believe that my intent or the governor's intent was to prevent news organizations from getting access to the governor's office, and in some way not recognize your First Amendment right.

MICHAEL KHOO: Wodles says reaction from the rest of the world has been more positive. He says he's received several hundred requests for the jackal badges from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, even National Public Radio. But Wodles says he's denied all such inquiries. For now, the sleeping dogs lie. For On the Media, I'm Michael Khoo in St. Paul, Minnesota.