CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter calls this a “briefing”. It’s not. Briefings are public. These are covert. Multiple media outlets were involved, but until CNN went public with it in the search for a scoop, no one seems to have reported this. That’s a covert disinformation campaign.
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…
Productive, no doubt.
This is the Biden administration directly feeding talking points to the media. It’s not a new concept, just particularly shameless in scale.
Instead of just meeting up a reporter for lunch or getting on a call, the Biden administration is conducting mass briefings for entire newsrooms.
CNN calls these engagements briefings, but actual briefings are public. Covert briefings provide a narrative and talking points to the people shaping opinion.
Any adult economics reporter already has the same information and can use it to produce meaningful conclusions. The only reason for these briefings is to give media types talking points, not facts, injecting spin into the process, and effectively telling them what to write.
And the media seems happy to do it.
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