Barack Obama and White House woo NYT
By ANITuesday, June 16, 2009
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama and the White House appear to be on a mission to woo journalists of the reputed New York Times to promote their message in mainstream journalism.
Several Times reporters and editors have described the Obama team as aggressively reaching out to them and paying closer attention to their copy, Politico reports.
One part of Obama’s Times fixation is strategy. Despite the abundance of news outlets, Obama aides believe the paper still has an outsize ability to shape perceptions among the political elite and other journalists.
While the Bush team did not care about the Times, officials in Obama’s team treat the paper with deference.
Senior Obama officials during the transition posed for Times Sunday Magazine portraits, even Mid-level officials cooperate for Times profiles detailing their key behind-the-scenes roles.
Scenario is such that even routine news stories covered by the Times are often able to quote high-level sources, speaking both on and off the record. (ANI)
