Jonathan Alter: What President Bush and his new press secretary could learn from FDR
It’s not about the mike. As Tony Snow takes over as presidential press secretary, you’ll likely see a spate of stories about how Snow’s low-key charm is working to improve White House media operations. But the honeymoon will last only a couple of weeks at most. That’s not Snow’s fault: President Bush could have Oprah as his mouthpiece and it still wouldn’t change his coverage. The only way to do that is to take a leaf from the greatest communicator of all—Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Most White House press secretaries aren’t well-known. (Quick: Who was Bill Clinton’s last one?) But even the ones who become household names cannot make up for the shortcomings of the president. If Bush is genuinely interested in making a fresh start, he will have to overhaul his own relationship with reporters, not assume that Snow can do it for him. In fact, some of the best-liked press secretaries have the least to show for it. Just ask Marlin Fitzwater, whose colorful style and longstanding personal friendships with Washington reporters couldn’t help George H.W. Bush get re-elected in 1992, or Mike McCurry, whose reputation for intelligence and candor did nothing to offset the abuse heaped on Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal.
The only way for a president to transform the news media’s view of him is to provide more of the commodity they crave the most—access. For decades, smart presidents (and candidates) have understood that most reporters can be bought off cheap with a little face time. They won’t become pussycats—and some will go out of their way to prove their independence. But it is much harder to twist the knife into someone who has just called you by name in a small group and listened patiently to your long-winded question. This was one of the keys to John McCain’s early success in the 2000 Republican primaries.
The president who pioneered the personal touch with reporters was FDR. Consider Roosevelt’s first press conference, which took place on March 8, 1933, four days after he took office. His predecessors rarely met with reporters and usually required questions submitted in writing. “I am told that what I am about to do will become impossible, but I am going to try it,” Roosevelt announced to the group crowded into the Oval Office that day. Then he laid down strict guidelines: he would meet with reporters twice a week, but he could only be quoted directly with permission (usually granted) and no radio recording was allowed. This was the first of an astonishing 998 press conferences he held over 12 years....
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Most White House press secretaries aren’t well-known. (Quick: Who was Bill Clinton’s last one?) But even the ones who become household names cannot make up for the shortcomings of the president. If Bush is genuinely interested in making a fresh start, he will have to overhaul his own relationship with reporters, not assume that Snow can do it for him. In fact, some of the best-liked press secretaries have the least to show for it. Just ask Marlin Fitzwater, whose colorful style and longstanding personal friendships with Washington reporters couldn’t help George H.W. Bush get re-elected in 1992, or Mike McCurry, whose reputation for intelligence and candor did nothing to offset the abuse heaped on Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal.
The only way for a president to transform the news media’s view of him is to provide more of the commodity they crave the most—access. For decades, smart presidents (and candidates) have understood that most reporters can be bought off cheap with a little face time. They won’t become pussycats—and some will go out of their way to prove their independence. But it is much harder to twist the knife into someone who has just called you by name in a small group and listened patiently to your long-winded question. This was one of the keys to John McCain’s early success in the 2000 Republican primaries.
The president who pioneered the personal touch with reporters was FDR. Consider Roosevelt’s first press conference, which took place on March 8, 1933, four days after he took office. His predecessors rarely met with reporters and usually required questions submitted in writing. “I am told that what I am about to do will become impossible, but I am going to try it,” Roosevelt announced to the group crowded into the Oval Office that day. Then he laid down strict guidelines: he would meet with reporters twice a week, but he could only be quoted directly with permission (usually granted) and no radio recording was allowed. This was the first of an astonishing 998 press conferences he held over 12 years....