Blogger Ben Smith on Pooler Sweet.

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How the media turns…..

This from Politico reporter Ben Smith commenting on the Obama/media covering him relationship….

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/

February 12, 2007

Pool Report Report

One of the fun campaign questions is always which newspapers and reporters the campaigns are most energetically buttering up. It’s made only slightly duller by the fact that the answer in Democratic politics is invariably the New York Times.

Anyway, a look at the first few pool assignments gives a glimpse of who’s Obama and Clinton like/need, and a good early indication at who will be getting the big official leaks and an early establishment of the press pecking order. (The pool reporter is the only one admitted to an event, and files a report that others share; it’s actually quite hard work, and there’s no obvious advantage, as you aren’t allowed to use anything that isn’t in the report. But still mildy coveted, if not by me.)

Anyway, the highly random alphabetical-by-height selection process has, so far, produced:

Clinton: Jackie Calmes of the Wall Street Journal; Adam Nagourney of the Times; Chris Cilizza of the Washington Post

Obama: Jeff Zeleny of the Times; Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times

Sweet is kind of the holder of the Obama franchise at the moment; I’m not sure how Calmes pulled that off; and the others are just a reminder that, however much we note the diminishment of the MSM, it’s still nice to be the Times. (And the Post.)

Indeed, Obama campaigned showered some extra love on the Times Sunday night by putting them up in the marginally less dingy hotel shared by the candidate and his staff.

(I’ve been trying to write this so it doesn’t sound like an extended whinge, and think I may have failed. Sorry about that.)

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