Dag Vega — the White House liaison to the TV networks, and one of the few original Obama staffers who moved into 1600 Pennsylvania five-and-a-half years ago — will leave for a soon-to-be-announced job in the private sector on July 25,
The Committee to Protect Journalists conducted its first examination of U.S. press freedoms amid the Obama administration’s unprecedented number of prosecutions of government sources and seizures of journalists’ records. The report notes President Barack Obama came into office pledging an open, transparent government after criticizing the Bush administration’s secrecy, “but he has fallen short of his promise.”
With more technology, and fewer resources at many media companies, the balance of power between the White House and press has tipped unmistakably toward the government. This is an arguably dangerous development, and one that the Obama White House — fluent in digital media and no fan of the mainstream press — has exploited. And future presidents from both parties will undoubtedly copy and expand on this approach.
