Officials in the Biden administration have been “secretly begging” news organizations to deliver “favorable” coverage to the president, according to a new report.
The administration is “not happy” with endless news reports detailing supply-chain problems, soaring inflation and other woes and “has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor,” CNN’s Reliable Sources said, according to the New York Post.
The report also says senior White House and administration officials “have been briefing major newsrooms over the past week.” Leading the meetings are National Economic Council deputy directors David Kamin and Bharat Ramamurti, as well as ports envoy John Porcari, CNN reporter Oliver Darcy wrote in a newsletter.
“I’m told the conversations have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials,” Darcy wrote.
The effort seems as if it could be working.
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank recently penned an op-ed headlined, “The media treats Biden as badly as — or worse than — Trump. Here’s proof.” Milbank says data from a report shows “Biden’s press for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020.”
The columnist also said his analysis “confirmed my fear: My colleagues in the media are serving as accessories to the murder of democracy.”
It’s not the first time the White House has been accused of trying to influence the media.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was hit just weeks into her job for reportedly soliciting journalists for the questions they’ll be asking in the daily briefing.
Just 10 days into her gig, a report emerged that said she was quietly soliciting questions from journalists about what they planned to ask during the daily briefing — a big no-no.
The Daily Beast on Feb. 1 published a story headlined: “White House Reporters: Biden Team Wanted Our Questions in Advance.”
“According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, as well as written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast, the new president’s communications staff have already on occasion probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when called upon during briefings,” the story said.
“While it’s a relief to see briefings return, particularly with a commitment to factual information, the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want,” one White House correspondent said. “That’s not really a free press at all.”
“It pissed off enough reporters for people to flag it for the White House Correspondents’ Association for them to deal with it,” another knowledgeable source said.
Conservatives quickly hit Psaki.
“The left demands 100 percent loyalty from the press, not the 99 percent they already get,” Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor told Fox News. “In today’s cancel culture, journalists don’t dare be open in their criticism, so that’s why this story is all whispers.”
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Source: Dailywire
