To: The California Media
From: Joe Mathews
Re: Meg Whitman
Congratulations. After months of your complaints about how Meg Whitman was ignoring media questions, she gave two press conferences this weekend.
Gee, thanks.
Now, we get to hear Whitman say really, really interesting and provocative things like…
“I think it’s firm and its ‘listen, here’s my approach, here’s what I want to get done, here’s what the people of California expect us to do so let’s focus on these three things…”
and
“The legislature is interested in many things but they’re interested in being re-elected, so can we focus the Legislature around my three priorities?”
and
“I think in many ways this is about relationships. The next governor has to move to Sacramento…you’ve got to buy a house, you’ve got to be part of that community you’ve got to know every state senator by name, every Assembly person by name. You’ve got to build the relationship because life is about relationships…”
Wow. Focus on three things. Knowing the legislators by name. Building relationships.
Stunning stuff.
I liked it better when Whitman was dodging the press.
With some politicians — particularly hyper-cautious, over-managed ones — the less we hear, the better.
Earth to my press colleagues: Our business model is dying. Our audiences are shrinking. We need to be producing content that’s interesting. How is it in our interest to push someone as dull as Whitman to open her mouth and say things that we might be obligated to report on?
Apparently, we’re so desperate to seem relevant that simply getting people to talk to us is a triumph.
The aging journalists at Calbuzz, who drove the Meg-must-talk-to-real-California-reporters bandwagon, led the wave of self-congratulation after Meg’s first presser, boasting: “Calbuzz gets results.”
So do laxatives, guys.