--- title: Barack Obama's Latest Media Strategy: To Have More Conversations description: President Obama's latest media strategy is to step down from the bully pulpit and have more conversations. canonical: https://time.com/3889355/barack-obama-media-strategy/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-20T16:46:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:13.506Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Steps Down From the Bully Pulpit og:description: His new media strategy: Have more conversations. og:url: https://time.com/3889355/barack-obama-media-strategy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f7eab09206b07b1/698850f206f2c1536233a423/barack-obama-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama eats lunch at Charmington's Cafe with Vika Jordan, Amanda Rothschild, and Mary Stein to discuss the needs of all Americans as they balance their families and jobs on Jan. 15, 2015 in Baltimore. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Steps Down From the Bully Pulpit twitter:description: His new media strategy: Have more conversations. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f7eab09206b07b1/698850f206f2c1536233a423/barack-obama-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Steps Down From the Bully Pulpit > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Five Years of Obama's State of the Union [Watch (HLS stream): Five Years of Obama's State of the Union](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kvaKb5nc.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2015-01-19. Watch 5 years of Obama’s State of the Union addresses in 90 seconds._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 20, 2015 4:46 PM UTC  President Barack Obama eats lunch at Charmington's Cafe with Vika Jordan, Amanda Rothschild, and Mary Stein to discuss the needs of all Americans as they balance their families and jobs on Jan. 15, 2015 in Baltimore. President Barack Obama eats lunch at Charmington's Cafe with Vika Jordan, Amanda Rothschild, and Mary Stein to discuss the needs of all Americans as they balance their families and jobs on Jan. 15, 2015 in Baltimore. Kenneth K. Lam—Baltimore Sun/TNS/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 20, 2015 4:46 PM UTC Barack Obama, who rose to the White House on the strength of his speeches, will spend the twilight of his presidency having conversations. The orator-in-chief will continue giving big set-piece speeches, such as [Wednesday’s commencement address](http://time.com/3890579/barack-obama-coast-guard-commencement/) at the Coast Guard Academy tying climate change to national security. But with his agenda hemmed in by Congress and the public’s attention drifting towards his would-be successors, Obama is increasingly taking a more informal tack. In January, he [sat down with YouTube star](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQe7o%5FGea-4) GloZell Green, better known for a [“cinnamon challenge”](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/08/the-youtube-cinnamon-challenge-hilarious-or-hazardous/) video. In April, he chatted about climate change with Bill Nye the Science Guy while on a tour of the Everglades. Earlier this month, he sat on [a panel on poverty](http://time.com/3856155/barack-obama-ta-nehisi-coates/) at Georgetown University with a Harvard professor and the head of a conservative think tank. The White House says these are all part of an effort to come down from the bully pulpit and get into the pews. “The President wants to spend the next year and a half not just talking at people but having a conversation with people and there are a range of ways to do that,” says Jennifer Psaki, the White House communications director. She stressed that these more nontraditional interviews allow Obama to talk more at length about the issues he cares about, especially when the subject is not the lead story on cable news. “There are many, many people who care deeply about climate change for example, but they may not be interested in reading the latest clip or watching the latest cable news piece about a debate on Capital Hill,” she adds. “They’re more interested in watching a clip or hearing more in depth discussion with the president of the United States about how to address this larger, bigger issue.” The strategy also allows the White House to reach audiences that may not be tuning in to the news through more traditional outlets. When Obama [went on comedian Zach Galifianakis’ web series](http://time.com/19645/obama-zach-galifianakis-between-two-ferns/) _Between Two Ferns_ last year to talk about insurance enrollment, some pundits clucked, but the White House noted that signups on HealthCare.gov spiked. In many ways, Obama is just following the path of predecessors like Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy, who used radio and television in new ways to get their message out. “Younger audiences receive information in different ways,” says Don Baer, CEO of strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller and former Clinton White House communications director. “There is no need to stand on a lot of ceremony about that. At one point in our history, the presidential press conference was viewed as innovative, new and foreign. Today it’s one of the core staples of presidential communications.” There is a downside, says Tevi Troy, president of the American Health Policy Institute and author of “What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House.” The YouTube interview or the Top 40 radio station hit is _not_ a presidential press conference, and the circumventing of the traditional media does not go unnoticed by the people of the White House press corps who constantly struggle for more access to the president. “The number one downside is that the traditional media don’t like it,” Troy says. “And as president, that can impact the way they write about you.” Still, Psaki insists the president’s conversations with bloggers and thought leaders do not signal that he’s completely done away with traditional speeches and interviews. “It’s about expanding the scope of what you consider and also thinking about what your audience cares deeply about,” Psaki says. “How do you—not just talk at them, but also engage.” ## Transcript Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States. [ MUSIC ] Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice- President, distinguished guests, members of Congress, my fellow Americans, those of us here tonight have had our differences over the past two years and while we may not be able to bridge [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] Our biggest philosophical differences this year. Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis. Businesses have created more than three million jobs. Six million new jobs. Eight million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years. It should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics. [ LAUGH ] I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new healthcare law. Already the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of healthcare costs. We have come through a difficult decade, and a new year has come. Our journey moves forward. And our future is hopeful with our feet planted firmly in today but our eyes cast toward tomorrow I know it is within our reach despite our hardships our union is strong and the state of our union is strong and the state of our union will always be strong thank you God bless you and God bless the United States of America [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3889355/barack-obama-media-strategy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3889355/barack-obama-media-strategy/"},"headline":"Obama Steps Down From the Bully Pulpit","datePublished":"2015-05-20T16:46:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:13.506Z","description":"President Obama's latest media strategy is to step down from the bully pulpit and have more conversations.","url":"https://time.com/3889355/barack-obama-media-strategy/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f7eab09206b07b1/698850f206f2c1536233a423/barack-obama-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f7eab09206b07b1/698850f206f2c1536233a423/barack-obama-media.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama eats lunch at Charmington's Cafe with Vika Jordan, Amanda Rothschild, and Mary Stein to discuss the needs of all Americans as they balance their families and jobs on Jan. 15, 2015 in Baltimore.","caption":"President Barack Obama eats lunch at Charmington's Cafe with Vika Jordan, Amanda Rothschild, and Mary Stein to discuss the needs of all Americans as they balance their families and jobs on Jan. 15, 2015 in Baltimore.","creditText":"Kenneth K. 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