"Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"
The
collective media tantrum over access to President Obama enters its second day and the outrage continues to grow. Politico leads today's charge with a four—count 'em, four—page
hissy fit, and boy, oh, boy, talk about burying the lede:
The president’s staff often finds Washington reporters whiny, needy and too enamored with trivial matters or their own self-importance.
Join me below the fold for the self-important whining of the narcissistic media ...
So what's their beef? Well, it seems that President "Puppet Master" limits, shapes and manipulates the media by taking:
... old tricks for shaping coverage (staged leaks, friendly interviews) and put them on steroids using new ones (social media, content creation, precision targeting). And it’s an equal opportunity strategy: Media across the ideological spectrum are left scrambling for access.
And just how mad is that scramble?
Obama gives frequent interviews (an astonishing 674 in his first term, compared with 217 for President George W. Bush), but ...
But, but, but ... huh?
It turns out that the president's 600 plus interviews were "with network anchors or local TV stations, and rarely with the reporters who cover the White House day to day," which is bad because, according to Politico, White House reporters "know the most and ask the toughest questions" and "are often most likely to ask tough, unpredictable questions."
This from the crew that brought you probing questions on the Beyonce lip sync scandal ...
Bottom line? They're mad that the White House talks to media outside of the Washington bubble, they're mad about not getting to watch Tiger Woods play golf, they're mad about not getting answers to shouted questions and they're really, really mad that White House staff mocks them on Twitter.
Perhaps the media could channel all that rage into something crazy ... like journalism. Or they can continue to whine. Care to wager on which route they'll choose?