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Obama faces a completely different press corps than Bush did

February 20, 2009 12:16 pm ET by Eric Boehlert

This is quite an observation from MSNBC's Domenico Montanaro [emphasis added]:

The great challenge that this White House is dealing with is the 24/7 nature of the Twittering media that no other president has ever dealt with on the policy front. It's the natural evolution, considering that campaigns have gotten this kind of coverage for years. Still, this environment of incremental up-down rulings by the punditocracy (most notably business pundits, see yesterday) on Obama's first month of policy, is quite the message handling challenge for this White House. Right now, it’s chosen to deal with it by flooding the zone; instead of pushing one storyline a week, they go ahead and try and sell multiple messages. Can they keep up the pace?

Domenico's point is that the new Obama administration faces a new type of media environment that moves at a lightening pace and insists on handing out grades on an almost hourly basis.

To that I ask: Didn't Bush just leave office like less than 40 days ago. Is Domenico suggesting that in the last 40 days here has been some sort of overnight, technological media revolution inside the Beltway which now causes the press corps to act in a dramatically different, and in some cases almost unrecognizable, fashion?

Or, as I'd suggest, is it simply that the same media infrastructures remains in place (i.e. Twitter existed while Bush was prez, right?), it's just that the Beltway press corps has voluntarily chosen to act in a dramatically different, and hyper-caffeinated, fashion to cover (and grade) and new Dem White House?

I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

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    • Author by MickD (February 20, 2009 12:58 pm ET)
         
      The press and the MSM was simply bullied and intimidated by Bush and the Repubs. There is no such wolf with the Dems (led by Obama wanting a more "open" environment). So if a press/on-air dude attacks, he knows there is not going to be as much blow back (look at the New York Post and their haughtiness), he's going to look "tough" "journalistic" AND the corporate masters that they serve will be happy. Win-win-win-sin.
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    • Author by michaelrbn2342 (February 20, 2009 4:14 pm ET)
         
      A "lightening" pace.  I doubt the pace is getting "lighter".  Perhaps you mean "lightning"?
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    • Author by eweston8542983 (February 20, 2009 5:16 pm ET)
         

      I don't think they're getting the market penetration they used to. Obama's been ok on this front. To do well is going to take some smart work on his part, and he needs smart work from his administration's people as well.

      Like the bird said,"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred."

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  • County Fair is a media blog featuring links to progressive media criticism from around the Web as well as original commentary, breaking news and rapid response updates to major media events from Media Matters senior fellows and other staff.