Conservatives on talk radio and on the web have noted that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is starting to be more accessible to thne mainstream news media and liberal infooutlets. The Daily Caller reports:
Mitt Romney is running for president as a Republican, but his recent media strategy includes granting exclusive interviews to news outlets that cater to a liberal audience.
Romney last week granted one-on-one interviews in Iowa to both MSNBC and the Huffington Post, among the best-known sources of news for liberals in the country. In recent weeks, he also gave interviews to The Washington Post, The New York Times and Politico.
It’s a peculiar strategy for someone who has had trouble convincing conservatives throughout this race he’s one of them.
The Romney campaign runs a tight ship when it comes to media access. Unlike other candidates who can be more open at campaign stops, Romney will only answer questions from reporters during organized media availabilities.
He has had an awkward relationship during the 2012 campaign with non-liberal outlets, especially the Fox News Channel.
Until just recently, Romney avoided — unlike other candidates — appearing on the nightly “Special Report” program and “Fox News Sunday.” When he finally sat down with “Special Report” host Bret Baier, Romney made news for his snippy responses.
This is indicative of how our ideologically driven politics now works in the United States.
Actually, once upon a time it would be considered GOOD NEWS for a candidate of either party who actively made him/herself accessible to any and sundry legitimate news organizations. If the intent of elections is only to win over your own choir, then you’d only talk to Fox News or MSNBC. Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney, in particular, had long stretches when the only legitimate person they seemed to feel was a legitimate news reporter was that Republican talking point and p.r. machine, Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Would they be as accessible to CNN’s Don Lemon? Fat chance.
If Romney truly wants to win then he’s going to HAVE to get on legit news channels and networks and answer questions from reporters so he can start to beat down lingering reservations voters — not just conservative voters — may have about him and whether they can trust him on issues since he has had more changes than a baby with bladder problems.
So perhaps from a conservative viewpoint he is showing that just can’t resist that ol’ moderate Republican gene inherited from his father and on display when he was Governor of Massachusetts.
But perhaps it’s just this:
Smart politics.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.