Associate Editor's Word | Zero like Joe

I had a fireside chat with Bigg Boss in New York a few days ago New York Times, Use a warm expression in the invitation.

He discusses his media business model with AG Sulzberger, the future of local journalism, artificial intelligence and the problematic relationship presidential candidates have with big media. Not only Donald Trump…

The discussion focused mostly on political coverage The New York TimesFrequently heard accusations of “wokism” and complacency toward Democrats.

Sulzberger dismissed the criticism with a touch of impatience, clearly irritated by the question. He also addressed Trump's attacks on his media, but Biden has steadfastly refused to return calls from his reporters.

“Biden gave Jason Bateman more interviews than interviews The New York Timesat The Washington Post and at The Wall Street Journal Reunited! “, he was angry.

Who is Batman? A Hollywood actor who hosts a podcast SmartlessAnd who doesn't have the opportunity to interview Biden alone: ​​he deserves a second interview with the President of the United States!

How many times have the latter met with NYT, WP and WSJ?

Zero like Joe.

We've endlessly discussed the unhealthy dynamics that connect Donald Trump with the press in recent years, but we haven't talked much about his rival, which isn't great.

Let's be clear, the Democratic nominee did not describe facts as “fake news” and the media as “the enemy of the people,” establishing a clear line between the two. But if we put the attacks and insults aside and coldly analyze Joe Biden's reach and the number of interactions he's had with the mainstream media since his election in 2021, we quickly realize that they are almost non-existent.

That's how far Biden has come Top 3 Over the past 100 years, presidents have avoided the press the most while in office. A famous platform he shared with Reagan and Nixon.

We obviously don't judge a president by the number of interviews and press conferences he gives. But it's a key indicator of his desire to be accountable to voters: He may increase appearances on the Weather Channel and Comedy Central, as Biden did, and we don't know much about his support for Netanyahu.

The presence of the President in front of the media is a gesture of openness, accountability and transparency, especially when exchanges with journalists allow questions and supplementary questions.

So, if we look at different presidents over the last three decades, from George Bush Sr. to Joe Biden, we notice that each of them has held an average of 20 press conferences per year.

According to the American Presidency Project¹George Bush Sr. had the most with an average of 35 per year, followed by Bush Jr. (26), Bill Clinton (24), Donald Trump (22) and Barack Obama (20).

How many people did Biden have on average? Not more than 11.

We can see the justification for this low number of appearances is that Biden favors social networks and allows the press to express themselves more, while Trump's press conferences resembled trench warfare.

After the tumultuous era of Donald Trump, Joe Biden has promised to restore healthy and open relations with the press. At this point, unfortunately, it's a failure. Biden even had the audacity to avoid the press for more than 150 days for almost half a year in 2022!

But which is better? Refusing to answer the press or bravely answering them? Hmm, good question Just.

Does Joe Biden make up for it by handing over his microphone and giving interviews to journalists who invite him into their studios? Not anymore. This is what AG Sulzberger has condemned.

This raises serious questions, especially in a context where there has not been a single televised debate during the entire election campaign, the first time since 1976, as Richard Head wrote last Thursday.².

On the one hand, we have the Republican candidate who avoids the mainstream media because he hates almost everyone. On the other hand, we have a Democratic candidate who avoids them because he doesn't want tough questions that might make him look bad. , as he did last Friday.

We can surmise that Joe Biden's media avoidance is linked to his age, criticism and development of failed memory, potential confusion and his team's strategy to keep him as far away from unscripted moments as possible.

But the conclusion is none the less: the mainstream media is in the blind spot of this presidential election, perhaps the most important in our existence.