In the short time Americans have come to know their new first family, they’ve learned that the president doesn’t want a puppy sleeping on his bed, the girls hate green veggies but at least one loves peanut butter, and the first lady believes her husband should keep out of her closet.
Like a reality show set on the glorified soundstage at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the details of one family’s life have captivated the country — if not the world — making the Obamas seem within reach, an ordinary family that just happens to be living an extraordinary existence.
These glimpses into President Barack Obama’s household are far from spontaneous. Instead, they are part of a careful strategy that has helped bolster the new president’s popularity and political clout — even as he promotes some economic policies, such as bailouts for banks and automakers, that lack broad appeal.
The White House, eager to cultivate an image-making media machine that thrives on personality, has invited coverage from such outlets as television’s Access Hollywood and Extra. Aides dole out exclusives accordingly, acutely aware of the shelf life for cover stories in glamor and celebrity magazines.
Administration officials have even studied the economics of paparazzi photography, strategically releasing images of the family to diminish the monetary value of unauthorized pictures and give the White House more control over how the family is portrayed. In return for access, celebrity news outlets must refuse to publish unauthorized pictures — or risk being cut off by the White House.
“If there are no images, then you create a supply-and-demand problem where the supply is none and the demand is huge,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. “If there is at least some supply that continues in a way that is respectful to who [the Obamas] are, you drive down the price and the paparazzi is not part of the equation.”
As he nears the 100-day mark in office, these efforts have yielded political benefits for a president who, not long ago, was viewed by many as an oddity: a biracial candidate with roots in Hawaii, Kenya and Indonesia whose campaign was routinely forced to swat down rumors that he was a Muslim. On Election Day, polls showed that many Americans still were not sure whether Obama shared their values; now surveys show approval ratings in the 60s with a vast majority saying they trust him.
Michelle Obama, who scored dismal poll ratings last year when critics accused her of disrespecting America, now scores higher numbers than her husband: in the 70s.
Much of the family coverage is coordinated by Michelle Obama’s office and her communications director, Camille Johnston, a former aide to Tipper Gore. Johnston has worked as an executive in the magazine and entertainment industries and until recently headed the communications department for baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
Since November, American magazine readers have seen a steady stream of coverage lionizing the Obamas and their marriage — with access parceled out to Vogue, People, Essence and O, Oprah Winfrey’s magazine.
“The Obama team has been masterful in the management of the image and the allocation of stories,” said Angela Burt-Murray, editor of Essence, a magazine geared toward black women that was given access to Michelle Obama and her mother for a spread on their family life. “There’s definitely a science to the way they’re approaching this.”
Embracing celebrity news outlets is nothing new for presidents or political figures, always eager to relate to average Americans. The Clintons and Bushes sought coverage in People, Ladies’ Home Journal and other media that would showcase the families’ softer sides. Bill Clinton inaugurated the tradition of appearing on late-night network television shows.
But White House aides and celebrity-news executives say the Obamas are taking this engagement to a new level. The White House last month welcomed a correspondent from Extra, a celebrity TV show, for a sit-down interview with social secretary Desiree Rogers, a close Obama friend. One portion was headlined, “Obama Family: A to Z!”
Rogers assured viewers that the Obamas are “real people.” She said that Michelle Obama “maybe likes food a little bit more,” and the president “would be satisfied just to have a salad and a boiled egg.”
“They’re much more fun to cover,” said Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, senior executive producer of Extra. “Michelle, with her friendship with Oprah, is just such a player in this world. And that love story with him — it’s almost too good to be true.”
Last week, the Obama family put itself front and center as Malia and Sasha joined their parents on the White House lawn for two made-for-television events. The girls participated in the annual Easter Egg Roll and then starred in one of Washington’s great media frenzies, as they introduced Bo, their new Portuguese water dog. The pictures of the girls frolicking with Bo were carried in celebrity and mainstream news outlets alike.
“They understood early on that just doing MSNBC and The New York Times, they were preaching to the choir,” said Lara Cohen, news director for Us. “They wanted to reach a more broad swath of people.”
From the beginning, the Obamas have searched for the proper balance between privacy and self-promotion, particularly as they began to expose their daughters to the spotlight. Several factors are at play, including the family’s value as a political asset and a more idealistic desire to serve as a high-profile role model for other families — particularly African-Americans.
At the same time, White House officials have sought to assert greater control over images of the family. In January, days before Obama took office, several White House officials, including incoming Communications Director Ellen Moran, met with the editors of People magazine and offered assurances that Sasha and Malia would not be kept in isolation.
The family desired privacy for the girls, the officials said, but they acknowledged the public interest and said that releasing pictures of Malia and Sasha could eliminate the market for the throngs of paparazzi photographers that hounded the family during their winter vacation in Hawaii.
“They are aware of the 360-degree appeal of him and his family,” said Larry Hackett, managing editor of People and a participant in the January meeting with transition officials. “The family can make him more relatable, more attractive, which are good things. So they’re trying to find that space between crass exploitation and satisfying the public interest.”
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pwallsten@tribune.com
ffiore@tribune.com
Ambition and audacity
Obama is leading with a sense of urgency and calm: chica gotribune.com/audacity
