Yes, the media are going easy on the Biden administration

Gone are the days of daily and sometimes hourly “bombshell” news reports tearing down the president, often too good to check. Gone are the frantic headlines about “norms” and “precedence,” even as Biden’s executive orders stack up, and administration officials lie about the White House’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan.

We’re in for a long four years of wall-to-wall human interest stories about Biden and his team, everything from reports about the president’s relaxation activities to the first lady’s hair accessories.

“President Biden has expressed a preference for a fire built in the Oval Office fireplace, and sometimes adds a log himself to keep it going,” CNN reported this week.

It adds, “Unlike his recent predecessors, he’s more of an early-to-bed type. Here’s how Biden is settling into his new job.”

Riveting stuff.

The Washington Post published a news rundown this week with the headline, “Scrunchies and dog walking: the country gets a taste of Jill Biden’s radical normalcy.”

I smell a Pulitzer in someone’s future.

“Pets are back: Biden’s 2 dogs settle in at White House,” reads an Associated Press headline published in January.

There is more where this comes from. Much more. For brevity’s sake, here’s a small sampling of the sort of media coverage that Biden and Harris have enjoyed since taking office. And remember, these are all real headlines and news alerts:

• CNN: “Jill Biden’s fashion choices were subtle but purposeful on Inauguration Day”
• CNN: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris drop a playlist for your inauguration watch party”
• ABC News: “Pres. Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden posts photos of her grandfather in “swag” the family got for him for Presidents’ Day weekend, including a khaki baseball cap with Camp David insignia on the front”
• Newsweek: “Joe Biden, Playing as Luigi, Wins in Mario Kart Race Against Granddaughter at Camp David”
• Politico: “Historians and relationship experts agree: The first couple’s romantic gestures aren’t just genuine — they’re restorative”
• Insider: “People are loving Jill Biden’s scrunchie and ponytail that she wore to buy Valentine’s Day desserts”
• Glamour: “First Lady Jill Biden Wore a Scrunchie While Shopping and People Felt So Seen”
• The Associated Press: “At Camp David retreat, Biden hangs out, shows he’s got game”
• The New York Times: “Whether or not related to the former president’s absence, a bipartisan lightness seemed to prevail across the stage at Joe Biden’s inauguration. Snow flurries gave way to sun.”

It goes on like that for quite a bit, but you get the picture.

Headlines and news alerts such as the ones seen above were few and far between during the Trump-era. The press that were spied on by the Obama/Biden administration were far too busy saving democracy with flimsy, anonymously sourced, and largely inconsequential “scoops.”

Now, to be fair, one incident challenges the narrative that it has been nothing but glowing and insipid coverage for the Biden administration.

Vanity Fair last week published a report revealing that now-former White House deputy press secretary T.J. Ducklo threatened and sexually harassed a female Politico reporter. The coverage, and the follow-up reporting by competing newsrooms, was appropriately scathing. Ducklo later resigned.

However, before we cheer the press for being tough on the Biden White House, consider first that this incident may be the exception that proves the rule. Also, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Ducklo attacked a reporter. Newsrooms responding in-kind may have less to do with holding the powerful to account and more to do with reporters circling the wagons for one of their own. That’s not exactly evidence that the press is working hard to keep the Biden White House honest. It’s more likely evidence of the press’s instinct for self-preservation.