Associated Press Writer Taken in by Greg Packer
Greg Packer has hit the big-time once again. After Ann Coulter exposed him as “the entire media’s designated man on the street for all articles ever written,” Big Media outlets slowly stopped giving him the time of day.
For example, in 2003 the AP famously circulated an amusing internal memo that read in part:
The world is full of all kinds of interesting people. One of them is Greg Packer of Huntington, N.Y., who apparently lives to get his name on the AP wire and in other media. It works: A Nexis search turned up 100 mentions in various publications.
We ourselves have quoted Mr. Packer while he was:
– visiting the site of the former Studio 54 in New York City in 1996
– the first person in line for a White House tour on George Bush’s inauguration day in 2001
– attending an XFL football game in New Jersey in 2001 (and at many more East Coast sporting events)
– opining in Times Square on subjects ranging from the millennium to the war in Iraq
– sporting a bright green wig and a painted green mustache at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade this year
– the first person in line to buy Hillary Clinton’s book at a New York City book signing earlier this weekAnd that’s just a handful of the stories. He also shows up in AP Broadcast actualities and in one APTN piece.
Mr. Packer is clearly eager to be quoted. Let’s be eager, too — to find other people to quote.
Oops! Looks like somebody at the AP didn’t get the memo. From an AP wire story from a couple of hours ago, we see this:
Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff cheered, sang along and stayed on their feet through a concert Thursday night that was conceived for them by rocker Dave Matthews in the days after the mass shootings on campus in April.
. . . .
Greg Packer, 43, of Huntington, N.Y., bought a ticket on the Web site Craigslist and rode a bus overnight to attend the concert.
“I just wanted to show my support and express my sympathies,” said Packer, who also wore a commemorative T-shirt.
Uh, and get my name in the paper.
It is heartening to see Packer mentioned in another AP story. After he was first exposed, he started having to settle for appearances in somewhat less impressive publications — like the Norwood News and the Epoch Times. He managed to get himself back in the pages of most of the bigger publications recently, when he pulled the stunt of being the first in line for an iPhone. But it wasn’t the same. For the most part, the Big Media stories about his iPhone line-sitting mentioned his “Man on the Street” shtick.
As far as I can tell, Packer hadn’t truly suckered one of the larger Big Media outlets in quite some time.
He’s back, baby!
(Previous Packer sightings here.)
Gotta give it to him for tenacity and consistency.
Now, if only he was a Republican Senator.
Comment by Christoph — 9/6/2007 @ 8:45 pm
It is important to note that Packer has admitted that he often makes stuff up. He is not just the same old man on the street. He is a proven bad source.
Comment by Amphipolis — 9/7/2007 @ 7:33 am
“He is a proven bad source.”
Dan Rather is interested in him a source for the TANG documents then
Comment by quasimodo — 9/7/2007 @ 8:11 am
One must admit, however, the man actually puts a lot of effort into this, plus his own money. At least, no one seems to have discovered him being paid by anyone to endorse their product.
Comment by kishnevi — 9/7/2007 @ 11:12 am
I agree, Kishnevi. I don’t know what motivates Packer but, at this point, he’s almost a modern-day media Kilroy.
Comment by DRJ — 9/7/2007 @ 11:39 am
Well, it’s not liks suckering the Associated (with terrorists) Press is hard.
Comment by Kevin R.C. 'Hognose' O'Brien — 9/7/2007 @ 11:22 pm
You Know Him, You Love Him, You Can’t Live Without Him…
Mickey Kaus writes that The Pack Is Back!This is becoming a moving story of the resilience of the human spirit! Huntington, New York’s Greg Packer, uncovered by Ann Coulter as “apparently the entire media’s designated man on the street for……
Trackback by Ed Driscoll.com — 9/8/2007 @ 10:21 am
Sure — Greg Packer they catch on to; Iraqi “stringers” and fauxtographers? Not so much.
Comment by Claire — 9/8/2007 @ 3:10 pm
But if some pushy journalist happened to shove a mike in my face and demand to know what I thought about an event, I might just give some of the drivel he expects, a made-up address in Huntington NY, and the (fake) name of Packer …
What I’m saying is, how do we know the “current” Greg Packer is “THE” Greg Packer and not some copycat?
Comment by j melcher — 9/8/2007 @ 4:14 pm
He’s obviously the Jamil Hussein of the United States. He’s an expert on everything happening everywhere. Except, to his credit, he actually shows up at the places he purports to know about.
Comment by kcom — 9/8/2007 @ 5:10 pm
[…] most oft-quoted man on the street resurfaces again, after being banned for several years. Couldn’t they at least get him remark on the […]
Pingback by Wikistan » Blog Archive » Greg Packer resurfaces — 9/9/2007 @ 7:17 am
Well, I plan on using the alias “Greg Packer” when/if I’m ever asked for a quote or interview for my local media.
I’m not alone.
Me and my circle of friends here in the midwest have decided to perpetuate the idea as a little bit of mischievous subversion towards media.
Why not?
Comment by Greg Packer — 9/9/2007 @ 2:01 pm
With just a little effort we could make Greg Packer as ubiquitous as George P. Burdell.
Comment by Johnny Lumber — 9/11/2007 @ 1:05 pm