Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"If you ever wondered what happened to Jeff Gannon, the former conservative reporter whose questionable White House credentialing and ties to several sex Web sites forced him out of a job," he's an active member of the National Press Club. Gannon -- whose real name is James Guckert -- initially drew attention after repeatedly asking softball questions during tense moments of White House press briefings. It was later revealed that Gannon had little journalism experience but regularly received day passes to White House briefings. "Press Club rules require that a new member be sponsored by at least two current members," explains Joe Strupp. One of Gannon's sponsors was Rick Dunham, now of the Houston Chronicle. Dunham said he supported Gannon because "my goal was to expand our membership into blogging and multimedia." The other sponsor isn't known. Gannon is on the Press Club's New Media and Newsmakers committees. The chair of the Newsmaker Committee, which "decides which 'newsmakers' to invite to some Press Club events," said of Gannon, "We need everyone we can get."