I Am Spartacus
Here’s the thing about deploying a divide and conquer strategy. It only works if the opponent allows themselves to be divided.
Sadly, that just happened as journalists from the New York Times, Politico and CNN were barred from a briefing given by White House spokesperson Sean Spicer.
Two mainstream news organizations did what they should have done. Reporters from both Time Magazine and the AP refused to attend the briefing in protest.
When Spicer came looking for Spartacus, they stood up and yelled, “I am Spartacus.” It’s inspring that this pair of publications chose to stick together with two others that were marked for exclusion.
But, sadly, (along with a handful or right-wing rags) ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Fox News attended the briefing.
Later in the day, the WSJ said they didn’t know certain outlets were blocked and won’t attend such briefings in the future. Good. Because the future is now.
When the White House attacks the mainstream media, it is attacking all of the mainstream media (and all Americans). And it’s going to take all of those publications to jump in the same foxhole and fight these battles together if there’s going to be any chance to win the war. And make no mistake, it is a war.
