WH Press Corps Threatens to Get Adversarial
Jul 23, 2009 Obama's communication strategy, The Village, White House press corps
Print reporters in DC complained today that Obama is slighting their Very Serious Reporting by talking to TV journalists and diminishing their Very Important Role by speaking to bloggers.
Of course, that’s what Obama has been doing since he started running for the office. In fact, Obama’s communication strategy has always been to find a way around the Village filter. This is nothing new, but now the Very Serious Reporters are threatening to get more “adversarial” about it. As if they weren’t already:
At HuffPo, Jason Linkins asks exactly the right question:
Is it because the White House has been obfuscating (on White House visitors), breaking promises (on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell), struggling to hold the line on major policy (health care, energy), or dodging key issues (TARP transparency)? No! Because you see, those would all be GOOD reasons to get adversarial with the White House. Instead, the adversity is motivated by the same things that have traditionally motivated the White House Press Corps: status and vanity. (Emphasis mine)
“Status and vanity” just about sums up the entirety of Village media in a nutshell, doesn’t it?
