Cowboy Confessional

Will someone give the Obama White House a break? I mean besides ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, MSNBC, and the Communist News Network.

Starting two weeks ago, Obama administration minions made mock of Fox News. On the Sunday talk show circuit, senior and senile Obamatrons implied or outright stated that Fox News was not a news network, lacked journalist credibility and that Rupert Murdoch was a child eating space alien. The White House had decided not to allow their staff to appear on Fox and suggested to other news outlets not to pick-up stories that Fox broke – stories like the Acorn hooker scandal or that Obama’s White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn, praising mass murderer Mao before a group of high school students.

This, of course, backfired. Telling the media not to report a news story is like telling a teenager to not drink, smoke or have sex – it tends to promote what you proscribe.

I’m giving Obama a bye on this one, assuming his staff simple ran amuck in unison. I have to, because if Barack was bonkers enough to pick a fight with antagonists who own a transmission tower, then he is about as bright as a Britney. Back when newspapers were relevant, politicians routinely said “never pick a fight with a guy who buys ink by the barrel.” The bromide applies to broadcasters to boot.

But even broadcasters are second tier influencers in the age of the Internet.

Where Obama’s brain trust erred is in not knowing that the media doesn’t control the message anymore. News organizations can seed a story and start a conversation, but they lose control the moment electrons escape their web site and influence readers, who pass along the salient bits to other addicts and activists. These kernels of news are then researched more, refuted, edited, distilled, re-researched and occasionally made more lucid (though not necessarily more accurate).

In short, the people now control the conversation. No wonder they sound ticked off.

The White House intellectual short circuit was most evident in the words of Communications Director Anita Dunn. In discussing their election mechanics, Dunn deigned “Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn’t absolutely control.” This awkward admission that they manipulated the media amplifies their distaste for Fox and their inability to handle policy without spin.

The problem is that the people have grow tired of spin and have alternatives.

Which brings us back to the Fox News ban. Since Obama believes Fox News will not treat them with (take your pick) kid gloves, deference or divine reverence, they sought to banish them from information flow. This strategy had two primary flaws. First, as noted above, the media isn’t in control of the conversation, they only seed it. So when Obama’s handy henchmen went on every other Sunday talk show (except Fox’s) and spoke derisively of Fox, they attracted the attention of people who then started Internet conversations.

This included Fox News’ large audience. In other words, Obama did not have “absolute control” over the story because nobody can.

More important though are Fox’s 14%. This fraction of their viewers self-identify as ‘independent’ voters, neither aligning with Republicans or Democrats. Notoriously savvy and well researched, the indies tend to get their news from multiple sources … including Fox. They may sense Fox spin, but they also sense CNN crud, MSNBC chicanery and CBS B.S. Indie reaction to isolating one of their news outlets – the only one actively questioning administration policy and action – caused these loan wolves to howl.

Which is why the White House relented and is putting Fox back in the rotation.

Note to Barack: If the media is not in control of the message, don’t bother trying to control the media … or the people.

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