EDITORIAL: Obama administration a perfect reflection of our PR-driven society
When it comes to reporting and how people gather information, the world we live in today is dramatically different than what it was even five years ago.
Case in point: The Barack Obama White House, which recently came under fire from the Associated Press for "limiting press access in ways past administrations wouldn't have dared."
“The Obama White House is generating its own content like no president before and refining its media strategies in the second term in hopes of telling a more compelling story than in the first,” writes AP reporter Nancy Benac. Benac writes that social media has allowed the administration to bypass traditional media and to "act as its own news agency" by spreading its own content that presents Obama in the best light possible.
While posting interactive videos that promote Obama's agenda on YouTube or tweeting a photo of Obama and the first lady hugging on Election Day is not necessarily harmful, it is the administration's active efforts to restrict access to journalists that leaves us feeling worried.
The Obama administration has largely ignored the White House Press Corps, conducting 107 short question-and-answer sessions compared to 354 by President George W. Bush, and has instead opted to face questions from local TV reporters in sit-down interviews, which typically result in much more scripted answers, or from late-night comedians, who, with the possible exception of Jon Stewart, tend to go very easy on Obama (or any politician, for that matter) in interviews.
It's clear that the White House PR team feels emboldened by social media to work its way around traditional journalists as much as possible, thereby avoiding potential missteps or criticism from reaching the public and instead creating a very friendly media environment for the president.
This is true of virtually every PR team now, from your local representatives to businesses and even Central Michigan University. Cutting out the middleman, aka the press, is the name of the game today, and while that makes it easier for these groups to get their message out, it also leaves accountability and objectivity in the dust.
So, while you might see the president actually doing more public appearances, it's important to keep in mind that he's not answering to the press nearly as much as past presidents. Are we as a society OK with that?
We shouldn't be.
