Why Obama's Everywhere You Look, Listen, Read

Reporters' gripes about Obama pile up

(NEWSER) - The right likes to say the media is in love with President Obama; if so the affair has gone sour. White House reporters find Obama's administration thin-skinned, vengeful, and unfairly stingy with information, they tell Politico . "The White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap that can be turned on and off at their whim,” the New Yorker's George Packer—one of the few Politico sources willing to be named—said. More»

(NEWSER) - Helen Thomas has covered a lot of presidents, and she’s not much of a fan of how the current one manages the press. The 89-year-old reporter tells CNS that Obama’s White House tries to stage-manage news conferences and other media events like no other. “Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.” More»

The 'beat sweetener' laudatory profile is early-term tradition

(NEWSER) - Readers of just about any national news outlet might’ve noticed a flood of good press about top White House aides lately. It’s not coincidence, and it’s not bias, Michael Calderone writes for Politico. Called a “beat sweetener,” such pieces aim to cultivate sources by praising them in print. Says one professor, “Whenever I see a laudatory profile, there is always usually some hidden agenda going on.” More»

Press corps miffed by quiet social life, he suggests

(NEWSER) - President Obama isn't aloof, he says—it's just that he and Michelle don't tend to paint the town red. "My suspicion is that this whole critique has to do with the fact that I don’t go to a lot of Washington parties and, as a consequence, the Washington press corps maybe just doesn’t feel like I’m in the mix enough with them," he tells Time in an interview, noted by Politico . "And they figure, well, if I’m not spending time with them, I must be cold and aloof." More»

Press secretary will also hit the speech circuit

(NEWSER) - Robert Gibbs confirms that he's part of the long-rumored White House shakeup today, telling the New York Times that he'll leave the job in early February to become a political adviser. He's also looking to pick up a little loot on the speaking circuit. A successor is expected to be named within two weeks; aides tell the Times that President Obama is finalizing his staff changes today. More»