I’ve conducted hundreds of interviews over the years, celebs right through to criminals, and one thing I’ve learnt is how to get the answer I’m after. The headline, the click bait if you will. It goes like this:
Me: So….it must be frustrating to read the negative reviews of your film….’
Celeb: ‘Well, I try not to let them get me down...
Me: ‘Mmmmm….devastating I imagine.’
Celeb: ‘Uhh….
Me: ‘I know I’d be pretty upset, all that work and the critics get it so wrong.’
Celeb: Yeah, they got it wrong...
Me: ‘As I said, devastating….
Celeb: ‘Yeah….’
BOOM!
Headline: Devastated Celeb lashes out at Critics “They got it Wrong!”
If you’re a journalist working for the media and you’re attending the white house press briefings you know what your editors want, and that’s not detailed information about the latest legislation that will create jobs or make farming more environmentally friendly.
You want your headline, you want the click bait, and tripping up Sean Spicer White House Communications Director and Sarah Huckabee Sanders Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary is what you must do to get it.
Reporters show their frustrations
Sean and Sarah have called out journalists many a time on their reporting sending them into paroxysms of self-doubt and lashing out with hurt feelings.
June 26, 2017, Sentinel Newspapers reporter Brian Karem wailed at Sarah during a press briefing when Sarah bemoaned the lack of press coverage of job growth, deregulation, tax reform and health care. He told her she was "inflaming everybody". She disagreed and told him it was, "outrageous for you to accuse me of inflaming a story."
Fake News episode
Sarah has carried on to be a strong press officer holding her own whenever confronted.
So too Sean Spicer; Feb 6, 2017
Q ….The New York Times said this morning that you're rethinking your strategy of how swiftly to roll out initiatives. Are you going to slow things down?
MR. SPICER: I would say that that story was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the President an apology for the way that that thing was -- there were just literally blatant factual errors.
And it's unacceptable to see that kind of reporting or so-called reporting. That is literally the epitome of fake news.
Q What part of the story was the --
MR. SPICER: …..from top to bottom, it made up stories that just don't exist. And I think that's unfortunate for people that look to news institutions like that for their news because it is just not an accurate portrayal of what's really happening.
Sean’s resignation
When Sean announced his resignation you could hear the press crow from space. But I strongly doubt the press had anything to do with his resignation. He’ll be going onto better things and I’m looking forward to his replacement Anthony Scaramucci.
The American ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown summed it up perfectly last week to NZ National Radio:
"Sean Spicer has a very direct style and quite frankly people aren't used to that in Washington, they're used to being coddled - the press especially - and when you speak directly and you kind of push back they don't seem to like it. Anthony will be the same, but probably a little bit smoother.”
As Sarah said recently, “I know this will surprise a lot of people, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
