UNEXPECTEDLY: White House quietly tries to reshape economic coverage.
The White House, not happy with the news media’s coverage of the supply chain and economy, has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor. Senior White House and admin officials — including NEC Deputy Directors David Kamin and Bharat Ramamurti, along with Ports Envoy John Porcari — have been briefing major newsrooms over the past week, a source tells me.
The officials have been discussing with newsrooms trends pertaining to job creation, economic growth, supply chains, and more. The basic argument that has been made: That the country’s economy is in much better shape than it was last year. I’m told the conversations have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials…
And right on cue! Media Give Biden More Negative Coverage Than Trump: The Washington Post.
Nonetheless, Milbank speculated that the media, “pressured by Trump’s complaints about the press, pulled punches” in its coverage of President Trump during the months of civil unrest throughout the country and the 2020 election.
On the other hand during his first 60 days in office, President Biden received less negative coverage than any president on record, dating back to President Bill Clinton, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Milbank described the media’s coverage of Biden’s first months in office “slightly positive.”
It’s true that the media criticized the Biden administration’s execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left an unknown number of Americans stranded under Taliban rule. Yet the media soon defended his foreign policy actions, with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell opining that at least Biden’s abandonment of Kabul was not as bad as the fall of Saigon.
The study also ignores that much of the cable news networks’ critiques came from the Left, repeating progressives’ allegations that the president had been too harsh toward illegal immigrants and that he compromised too readily with congressional Republicans and centrist Democrats on the eye-watering cost of his “Build Back Better” bill.
Just think of the media as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.
Evergreen:
UPDATE: MSNBC rushes in to polish Ron Klain’s apple:
(Updated and bumped.)