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--GCORUARFMTETBEBEURRSG-ERS - U.S. NEWS A7
- BOURBON - Tuesday 19 January 2016
CRAFT BEER TASTING
Obama media strategy expands into long-form conversations
K. HENNESSEY versationalists are quite so President Barack Obama, accompanied by Pulitzer Prize-win- downs in another box.
Associated Press high brow: ning Iowa writer Marilynne Robinson, arrives at the State Library Obama’s conversations
WASHINGTON (AP) — The —Obama recently cruised of Iowa in Des Moines. At an hour and 7,000 thoughtful words, aren’t narrowly targeted at
novelist tossed out phrases around the White House the discussion between Obama and Robinson sounded like a a single constituency and
such as “religious human- grounds in a 1963 Corvette college seminar or an independent bookstore reading. But this aren’t typically organized
ism” and “the sinister oth- Stingray coupe with Jerry was part of the White House’s new media strategy. around a single political
er.” The interviewer asked Seinfeld for an episode of message or timed to a pol-
her about her upbringing the Web series “Comedi- (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) icy rollout or debate. There
and writing process. ans in Cars Getting Cof- tends to be a clear mutual
At an hour and 7,000 fee.” and Reddit, and distribut- YouTube. interest— a peer-to-peer
thoughtful words, the dis- —He sat for an hour in com- ed content via the White Still White House officials relationship, as one White
cussion sounded like a col- ic Marc Maron’s garage in House website, Twitter and put Obama’s long-form sit- House official described it.
lege seminar or an inde- June for the podcast “WTF In some, Obama takes the
pendent bookstore read- with Marc Maron.” role of interviewer.
ing. —In March, the White That level of interest has
But this was part of the House invited David Simon, given some of the con-
White House’s new media a former journalist and versations a “you only live
strategy. writer of the TV series “The once” feel to them, as
Even for a president well- Wire” and other urban dra- though Obama were tick-
practiced in using nontra- mas, to discuss criminal jus- ing through a list of people
ditional media, the con- tice. he always wanted to meet
versation in September —British naturalist Sir David while he still had the staff to
between Barack Obama Attenborough met with arrange the introduction.
and writer Marilynne Rob- Obama in July for a con- q
inson — and a few others versation that revealed a
like it conducted in recent bit how Obama’s Hawai-
months — charted new ter- ian and Kenyan roots have
ritory in presidential com- animated his fight against
munications. climate change.
Slow paced, personal, “We want to give the presi-
nearly divorced from the dent opportunities to talk
news of the day and some- in more expansive ways
times distributed by the about big ideas and sub-
White House, a series of jects,” White House spokes-
“conversations” between man Eric Shultz said of
Obama and prominent fig- some of these conversa-
ures in arts, letters and en- tions. “Our goal is to give
tertainmentcaptures a people some insight into
White House experiment- how he sees things that are
ing with ways to reconnect not necessarily at the top
Americans to the president of the news cycle at that
before they say goodbye moment. We believe when
to him. you feel like you really un-
They also offer a glimpse derstand someone’s think-
of the president’s interests ing, you understand their
and thinking as he looks at decision-making.”
that next chapter. Conducting nontraditional
“We had this idea that why interviews is nothing new
don’t I just have a conver- for this president. Where
sation with somebody I re- other White Houses dab-
ally like and see how it turns bled in women’s maga-
out?” Obama told Rob- zines or lifestyle interviews,
inson, before diving into the Obamas embraced
mutual rumination about late-night talk shows, ce-
Christianity, fear and poli- lebrity magazines, sports
tics that ran in two install- media. Obama has sat for
ments in The New York Re- interviews with bloggers
view of Books. and YouTube stars, taken
Not all the chosen con- questions on Facebook
