The Daily Mail‘s David Martosko is today’s assigned print pool reporter for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Nevertheless, in keeping with the Obama White House’s shoddy treatment of the media, the campaign refused to allow Martosko access to the event Ms. Clinton is holding in New Hampshire. The campaign claims, quite ridiculously, that Martsoko has not been approved by the campaign, and they just needed a day or so to make a decision.
Rather than let Martsoko attend the event while the campaign sorted things out and made up its mind, he wasn’t allowed in:
Martosko then spoke with Clinton press aide Nick Merrill for 10 minutes and learned that the campaign would not be allowing the designated print reporter to cover Mrs. Clinton today.
Merrill offered varied and contradictory reasons for this decision.
First he confirmed that the concern had to do with the Daily Mail’s status as foreign press, saying; ‘We’ve been getting a lot of blowback from foreign outlets that want to be part of the pool and we need to rethink it all, maybe for a day, and just cool things off until we can have a discussion.’
Martosko then informed Merrill that the Guardian is part of the pool, and that the pool does not discriminate on the basis of media ownership.
Treating the media like a red-headed stepchild appears to be a Democrat political tactic. This phenomenon has been labeled Battered Media Syndrome because the tactic appears to work. No matter how poorly Obama or Clinton treat the media, the media never gives up on them. The media continue to protect the Democrats and tear into their opponents.
The press might be digging into the Clinton Foundation scandals now, but as we get closer to the election, no matter how poorly Hillary treats them, no matter how many unanswered questions remain about the Foundation’s corruption, the media will circle the wagons to drag Hillary over the November finish line.
In fact, treating the media poorly might be Hillary’s way of earning better coverage after a month of scandal coverage. The more failures in his administration, the worse Obama treated the media.
Battered Media Syndrome worked for Obama, why not Hillary?
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