A New York Magazine blog post defending Hillary Clinton’s shortage of press conferences was scrubbed Thursday so that its justification for the Democratic front-runner’s lack of media availability is now barely recognizable.
“The headline and force of the opinion overstepped the mark, so we edited the post and noted that it was edited,” magazine spokeswoman Lauren Starke told the Washington Examiner‘s media desk.
Here’s a before-and-after look at the amended article:
The post’s original headline read, “Stop Bugging Hillary Clinton About Press Conferences.”
It now reads, “Why Hillary Clinton Is Avoiding Press Conferences.”
The article, which was authored by New York Magazine’s Claire Landsbaum, originally argued that it’s bogus to criticize Clinton for going 180 days without a single press conference.
Clinton “knows public speaking isn’t her forte,” the author argued in a now-deleted passage.
“Part of playing the political game is knowing the best way to get your message across. As such, Clinton should be recognized for her pragmatism rather than being pressured to perform based on standards that don’t necessarily apply across the board,” the since-disappeared paragraph added.
The author included additional arguments in her story such as, “Does she owe it to voters to be interrogated by the press? Sure. But it makes sense for Clinton to wait until after she’s officially clinched the Democratic nomination (a task Bernie Sanders has made surprisingly difficult) to open herself up to further ridicule.”
This line of reasoning has also been removed.
The original version of the article drew a fair amount of criticism from media, including from the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, who wrote, “The idea that Clinton should continue to ignore the media because it’s good strategy is ludicrous.”
But none of that really matters anymore now that the New York Magazine blog post has been amended beyond recognition.
A conclusion that once read:
The same is true of her presidential run. As Traister herself points out, Clinton shines in one-on-one interactions. She files away every face and proves her devotion to supporters by promising them — individually — that she’ll work as hard as she can to make their lives better. Her charisma doesn’t come through in press conferences, and as Trump’s own rise demonstrates, it’s charisma that sways voters.
Now reads, “Does she owe it to voters to give a press conference at some point soon? Yes. But it’s probably not a political mistake to give fewer than Trump.”
And then there are the passages that disappeared entirely, including a paragraph that once read, “And it’s not like she’s hiding out in a bunker (although Trump’s almost daily appearances make hers seem sparse by comparison) — she’s given more than 300 interviews in 2016, including speeches before and after primaries and caucuses, town halls and appearances on NBC’s ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.'”
The article’s URL, however, still includes a plea for the press to “stop-asking-hillary-to-give-a-press-conference.”
The story also includes an editor’s note attached at the end of the article that reads, “This item has been substantially edited since its original publication.”
