At a time when his Washington honeymoon is turning into a hazing, President Barack Obama and his team are launched on a strategy to sail above the traditional White House press corps by reaching out to liberal commentators, local reporters and ethnic media....
Obama himself plans to meet soon with liberal bloggers, according to an administration official. With little fanfare, he’s already sat for interviews with Black Enterprise magazine, Telemundo and Los Angeles-based Hispanic radio host Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo [Jonathan Martin, "Obama Seeks Filter-Free News," Politico.com, 2009.03.24].
So where's my scoop, Mr. President? Remember, the Madville Times won you Lake County in November!
I'll get Obama to come fishing in Lake Herman yet!
Really showing his bipartisanship here!??!! Anyone can score points by going to his own supporters. What a true leader does is reach out to those who disagree with him and honestly try to work with them. Obama is no leader!
ReplyDeleteFrom the aforelinked article [emphases mine]:
ReplyDelete"What’s more, the proliferation of outlets has been embraced in recent years by a newly energized liberal base — eager to match the decades-old success of conservatives in building media channels to circumvent what they see as a biased or trivia-minded Washington press corps."
"Unlike some of his predecessors, however, Obama and his aides tend not to boast about their media strategy or publicly exalt in how they are confronting or marginalizing the traditional news media."
To the contrary, Obama has continued to engage aggressively with the establishment outlets. The New York Times recently had an interview, and CBS News’ 60 Minutes has conducted two long interviews with Obama since Election Day."
"These sessions reflect Obama’s belief, according to aides, that in a fragmented media universe, presidents must communicate nearly constantly across an array of platforms, both traditional and new."
"Bush’s team did little to disguise its skepticism of the establishment media, which it regarded as hostile and out of touch. Aides set the White House TV sets to Fox News, dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney to do regular interviews with radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham and brought in niche outlets such as Runner’s World and Field & Stream for sit-downs with the president."
"'The president has to be careful to tend to his base,' said Dee Dee Myers, press secretary in Clinton’s first term. 'A lot of what he’s doing, like giving trillions to corporations, is not that popular on the left flank of the Democratic base. So going to places like Ed Schultz or engaging the Huffington Post or MoveOn is a way to say, Look, we get it; we’re talking to a lot of the people who brung us.'"
"Just as Obama acknowledged on Schultz’s show that people are 'rightly concerned' with the amount of money being sent to Wall Street, Bush and his top advisers would often take their case to sympathetic outlets, including twice inviting conservative talk show hosts to broadcast from under tents on the White House lawn."
"The around-the-filter strategy began under Nixon, notes Martha Joynt Kumar, a Towson University political science professor and expert on presidential communications."
"'Nixon created the Office of Communications, and they would send out copies of the president’s speeches directly to various groups,' Kumar said, referring to what is now the media affairs office."
So I guess Anon's point (since Anon surely read the linked article as well) is that we haven't had a leader in the White House for the last 40 years.
Contrary to your statement, we have had several leaders in the last few years. We are sorely lacking now!
ReplyDeleteObama needs to lead and shirk off Nancy Pellosi, who is set on righting what she sees as all the Republican wrongs in just a few weeks. He was elected President, and while Pelosi is basking in the limelight, she is not the President. I don't feel Obama has quite gotten the picture of his stature. If he truly wants to see bipartisan cooperation, he must bring her under control or distance himself from her.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:24 misses the point again. It's not my statement; it's Anon's logical conclusion:
ReplyDelete1. Anon claimed that Obama's media strategy demonstrates he is not a leader.
2. The aforelinked article shows Obama's media strategy is similar to the media strategy of presidents since Nixon.
3. Therefore, Anon must conclude that Nixon, Bush, and any other presidents who used this medua strategy were not leaders.
By the way, did you notice President Obama called on the reporter from the Washington Times last night? That's the Moonies' paper. Can't reach much further across the aisle than that. Note also he didn't call on the Washington Post or other big (liberal?) papers.
ReplyDelete