There’s been plenty of commentary since White House communications director Anita Dunn explained the administration’s new, aggressive press strategy regarding Fox News. Here’s some more of the reaction:
NY Times’ Brian Stelter describes a back and forth about State Department coverage and writes:
Fox News commentators like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly have attacked the Obama administration for its aggressive posture toward the cable news network. On radio yesterday, Mr. Beck even compared the White House decision to shun his network to the seeds of the Holocaust. But it is notable that the White House is making hay of the network’s news coverage, not just its opinion programs.
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TIME’s James Poniewozik outlines the various outcomes the White House could be seeking with this tactic, but points out:
Of course, it’s possible that the Administration is simply making the case because it believes that it’s right and Fox News is wrong. But politically, you would think that the White House seeks to gain something from a fight, since Fox News probably is.
The Orlando Sentinel’s Hal Boedeker writes:
Maybe the White House should get out of the press-critiquing business. It’s never been a wise move for any White House. The complaints come off as whining. The White House certainly should stop condescending to Fox News, which is a slap against that channel’s fans. The smarter move would be for Obama to engage. Why doesn’t he put his smooth, unflappable style to the test on Fox News?
And The Nation’s John Nichols thinks the strategy is flawed in political and historical contexts:
Whether the grumbling is about Republicans on Fox or bloggers in pajamas, there’s a word for what the president and his aides are doing. That word is “whining.” And nothing — no attack by Glenn Beck, no blogger busting about Guantanamo — does more damage to Obama’s credibility or authority than the sense that a popular president is becoming the whiner-in-chief.
Previously:
•Bill O’Reilly: “Ms. Dunn is Seeing the World through the Prism of the other Media, like NBC News and CNN”
•Glenn Beck: ‘They’re More Worried about the War on Fox Than the Actual War in Afghanistan’
•Fox News Covers… Itself
•TVNewser poll
•Dunn on FNC: ‘Let’s Not Pretend They’re a News Network’