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If there’s anything that reporters can write about at great length, it’s themselves. Over at Politico, Josh Gerstein and Patrick Gavin prove that today with a 4,000 word opus about how poorly the Obama White House treats the press corps.

It’s actually interesting reading in a gossipy sort of way. I’ll just say this, though: I don’t think this is an Obama issue, and I don’t think it’s a Republican vs. Democrat issue. I think it’s just one of those things that gets continually worse over time. Nixon ran a tighter press shop than LBJ, Reagan ran a tighter one still (or, perhaps, a more sophisticated one), Clinton took it another step, and then Bush yet another. In the same way that (mostly) Republicans have discovered that a lot of legislative rules are actually just traditions that can be revoked whenever it’s convenient, the White House over the years has discovered that it can put a tighter and tigher leash on the press and control its message better without paying any real price. I expect this process to continue regardless of who’s in the Oval Office. It’s just a reflection of the changing media environment.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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