GOODY TWO SHOES: Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Here’s a snippet of Politico media analyst Michael Calderone’s primer on “How media sucks up to White House” (more to the point, why):
In a profile last month, The Washington Post described deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina as a “low-profile aide” who begins “fixing President Obama’s problems” before 7 a.m., works 14 hours straight and then hits the gym.
Not to be outdone, POLITICO noted the next day that White House chief legislative liaison Phil Schiliro - another “low-profile” official but one possessing “Buddha-like Zen” - is already working in the West Wing by 6 a.m. …
The New Yorker says White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is “a political John McEnroe, known for both his mercurial temperament and his tactical brilliance,” yet is also uncommonly indifferent to both criticism and praise.
Welcome to the “beat sweetener.”
In the early days of any administration, reporters reach out to the men and women who might become their sources over the next four years - then slather them with glowing profiles suitable for framing in their mothers’ bedrooms. …
Mark Feldstein, an associate professor at George Washington University, suggested that the average reader isn’t served well by a beat sweetener because he probably doesn’t know that it is what it is. …
“There are more reporters than sources with exclusive information,” Feldstein said. “The sources are in the driver’s seat, and they can leak to whoever they want to. How do you position yourself? One way is with the brown-nose profile.”
Editorial Note: A prime example of a beat sweetener is Newsweek’s profile of new White House Social Secretary, Desirée Rogers, which will no doubt snag Katie Connolly and Evan Thomas an invite to a White House soirée. Far less subtle, OpinionJournal’s James Taranto openly begging for a seat at the table so he can chow down on Wagyu beef (fourth item).
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