During his daily briefing for the legacy media, Tony Snow addressed David Gregory:

TONY SNOW: OK, before I get to that, I want to address something else. Because you and I had a conversation last week that got a whole lot of play in a lot of places, where I used the term "partisan" in describing one of your questions.

And I've thought a lot about that, and that I was wrong. So I want to apologize and tell you I'm sorry for it.

DAVID GREGORY: Thank you.

TONY SNOW: And the reason I do that is not only because it's the right thing, but because I want people in this room and also people who watch these to understand that the relations in this room are professional and collegial.

Demonstrating his personification of both traits, here's a transcript of Gregory badgering Snow's predecessor after it was announced that Vice President Cheney accidentally winged his hunting partner back in February:

Why was the White House relying on a Texas rancher to get the word of Cheney's hunting accident out over the weekend, asked Gregory, accusing McClellan of "ducking and weaving.''

"David, hold on… the cameras aren't on right now,'' McClellan replied. "You can do this later.''

"Don't accuse me of trying to pose to the cameras,'' the newsman said, his voice rising somewhat. "Don’t be a jerk to me personally when I’m asking you a serious question.''

"You don't have to yell,'' McClellan said.

"I will yell,'' said Gregory, pointing a finger at McClellan at his dais. "If you want to use that podium to try to take shots at me personally, which I don’t appreciate, then I will raise my voice, because that’s wrong."

"Calm down, Dave, calm down,'' said McClellan, remaining calm throughout the exchange.

"I'll calm down when I feel like calming down,'' Gregory said. "You answer the question.'

"I have answered the question,'' said McClellan, who had maintained that the vice president's office was in charge of getting the information out and worked with the ranch owner to do that. "I'm sorry you're getting all riled up about.''

"I am riled up,'' Gregory said, "because you’re not answering the question,''

McClellan insisted he understood that reporters deserve an answer.

"I think you have legitimate questions to ask,'' the press secretary said. "The vice president’s office was the one that took the lead to get this information out… I don’t know what else to tell you... That's my answer.''

Technorati is currently tracking 62.5 million blogs, and since 9/11, there have been a host of other non-blog news-oriented Websites and opinion forums that have launched. When the last remnants of the mass media have fully atomized, how will history record their elites' behavior at the tail end of their monarchal reign as information gatekeepers?

Update: Hugh Hewitt adds:

NBC was the network of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. Now they have Gregory and Keith Olbermann --the empty and the angry. Tony Snow's abilities so tower above those of Gregory that it is perhaps not fair for Snow to engage Gregory as other than a teacher would a somewhat slow and thus belligerent student. With that in mind, I understand the apology, as well as the way in which it was cloaked.

Exactly.