Posted on 11/08/2008 10:49:39 PM PST by Chet 99
How Obama Can Win Over The Media
NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2008(MarketWatch) Rick Stengel, the managing editor of Time magazine, didn't hesitate when I asked him what advice he would have for the nation's next president.
It was around 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, and Stengel was weaving his way through the throng at the CNN Grill, an election-night party thrown by Time Warner, which was attended by... everyone in town, or so it seemed.
"There has to be a new era of transparency," Stengel told me, raising his voice to be heard over the din.
I asked Stengel what the next president's priority should be.
"Communicator-in-Chief," Stengel said animatedly. "That's his main job."
Speaking for the media, who have been frustrated by outgoing President George W. Bush's infrequent public pronouncements over his eight years, Stengel urged Obama to be a constant presence in our lives.
"The more press conferences, the better," Stengel said, suggesting one a week. "The new president should also post his daily schedule online." Stengel said he looked forward to the day when there was so much transparency that Americans even knew with whom the president had lunch each day.
Obama, up close
I met Obama in October 2006 in Phoenix at a magazine conference. This was before he formally declared himself a candidate for the White House.
He had just finished playing tennis and was still wearing his tennis whites as he entered a private dining room to greet reporters in an informal manner. Magazine publisher Jason Binn had organized one of his patented well-attended dinners for the media and somehow managed to lure Obama there for a meet-and-greet.
Obama clearly enjoyed meeting people and making small talk. But I thought I got a glimpse of a slightly churlish Obama, too, when I asked him, rather bluntly, if he was worried about peaking in popularity with the media any time soon.
He cocked his head and took in my question, looking displeased at being buttonholed in such a friendly setting.
"No," he declared, throwing cold water on my theory. He then explained that he was confident he could continue to do well.
At the time, Obama had failed to thrill the gathering in Arizona. Maybe he was jet-lagged after taking a long flight from Washington. Maybe he was preoccupied with a looming doubles match on the tennis court. Who knows?
Guarded
Obama showed himself to be a guarded, private man on the campaign trail. Befitting his Harvard Law School pedigree, he chooses his words very carefully. He seemed to agonize when he had to speak off the cuff during his debates with his opponent on the campaign trail, Sen. John McCain, and wasn't at his best when he had to wing it.
I'd advise our new president to loosen up a bit when he deals with the media from this point on. The easiest way to get potential antagonists on your side is to smile and make light jokes. But Obama sometimes acts uneasily, as if he's about to sit down and take the LSAT.
Everyone in the media will be watching Obama, waiting for him to trip up and look bad.
It's nothing personal against him. But as I have written in this space before, the media love nothing more than to build you up, and then knock you down. This phenomenon takes place in every strata of life, from politics and business to sports and entertainment.
Media coverage
The worst thing Obama can do right off the bat is gain a reputation for complaining about his coverage in the media.
He should accept it, much as he did during the campaign against Sen. Hillary Clinton, then versus McCain. Obama took the high road, time and again, and it paid off.
The Washington media will appreciate it when he grants interviews and holds press conferences. But Obama will thrive in the spotlight when he shows that he's in charge -- not the pesky reporters.
Photo-ops
Obama would be smart to take advantage of his popularity now and create more goodwill.
He would be wise to go to the New York Stock Exchange and ring the opening bell one morning. Not only would he show Wall Street he is on its side, but the gesture would be an undeniable publicity bonanza as well.
As Bush knows from his own experience, Obama won't always have the media in the palm of his hand. He should take advantage of every opportunity.
This . . . must . . . be a joke. Must.
Sorta like giving Warren Buffet advice on how to make money.
This can’t be serious! LOL!!!!
next in the series, “How Obama can win over the Black vote.”
Shaking head at this story.....first he has to alienate them....
Incredible. They are now going to engage in a fictional escapade in which they pretend to be “objective” and are then “won over”—by a man they have sold their souls to already.
Incredible.
Where’s the satire alert?
“How Obama Can Win Over The Media”
******
Are these guys serious?
Its like we were living in George Orwell’s 1984, and the press is the “Minstry of Truth”.
I clicked on this one just to read the comments.
is this a damn joke? My Gawd, they really believe they are fair and balanced and ask the tough questions. The are D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L.
He had them at Hello.
Then the comment about Nancy Reagan didn't disappoint them.
Scrappleface?
They complain about how many pressers Bush gave.
And how many pressers did OBozo give during the campaign???
SeeBS ... black is white, white is black ... down is up ... up is down.
So let me guess that MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, were
hammering him on William Ayers, Rev. Wright, Toni Rezko! God I would never have thought I just imagined they were in the tank for him!
How many uh's were there?
“There has to be a new era of transparency,”
If my wife wasn’t asleep, I’d burst out laughing...
The corrupt foxes that bankrupted Fannie Mae, and nearly the entire PLANET are now in charge of the henhouse.
They are calling for the censorship of opposition voices o the radio already, and this naive moron wants “transperancy”??
I’ve been saying it all week. When these clowns begin to realize what it was they REALLY voted for, the backlash is going to be incredible. And Obama won’t be able to count on this huge black turnout for his next run, as he will be old news by then, the magic having worn off.
there’s a bubble somewhere and the media players run around sniffing the ether on each others breath
Nahhh, not possible. In years past it might've been possible for them to make that argument with a straight face, but not this time. This time they made a conscious decision to sell completely out as they created and ran the largest propaganda campaign in the history of the planet, and they dang well know it.
MM (in TX)
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