Keeping It All In the Family: The Cozy Relations between Media and the Obama White House

Updated 5-JUN-2013

The traditional media coalition is often criticized for having a too-cozy relationship with the White House. This criticism becomes especially interesting when you consider the number of family connections in the media to current or former Obama Administration staff.  These are but a few.

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For example, current White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is married to Claire Shipman, a correspondent for ABC News and a contributor to ABC's Good Morning America.

Former Obama White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is now a contributor to NBC News and MSNBC.  Similarly, former Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod is now senior political analyst for MSNBC.

Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, Ben Rhodes, is the brother of CBS News President David Rhodes.  Ben Rhodes apparently coined the term "kinetic military action" for the U.S. involvement in toppling Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi.  According to media reports, Ben Rhodes advised President Obama to withdraw support for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as part of the Egyptian "Arab Spring".  Ben Rhodes also helped coordinate the Obama Administration's talking points for the Benghazi terrorist attack where U.S. Ambassador John Stevens and three other Americans were killed.  Ben Rhodes is also active in driving American policy in Syria.

Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is Special Assistant to President Obama.  Previously, she was an advisor to then Senator Joe Biden, the current Vice-President of the United States. Her brother is Ben Sherwood, President of ABC News.

President Obama's new National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, is married to Ian Cameron, former executive producer for ABC News' "This Week" Sunday news show.  Susan Rice was former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  She also gained notoriety during the Benghazi incident for the dubious claim, supposedly written by the U.S. "intelligence" community, that the Benghazi attack was caused by a little-viewed YouTube video.

Former Obama White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orzag, is married to the lovely Bianna Golodryga, who is co-anchor on the weekend edition of Good Morning America (GMA).  GMA is part of ABC News, under Ben Sherwood.  Peter Orzag is now Vice Chairman of Global Banking at Citigroup. The Orzag/Golodryga relationship began with a DC sex scandal.

Former White House Deputy Press Secretary, Katie Hogan, is married to ABC News reporter, Matthew Jaffe. According to his official ABC News bio, Jaffe covered the 2012 Presidential election for ABC News and Univision.  Interestingly, his wife, Katie Hogan, stepped down as White House Deputy Press Secretary to join President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign as deputy press secretary. Katie Hogan now serves as spokeswoman for President Obama's Organizing for Action, a tax-free 501(c)(4) organization.

Tom Nides is former Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources under then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Mr. Nides is married to Virginia Moseley, who is Vice-President and Deputy Bureau Chief for CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau.  Virginia Moseley was former senior Washington producer for ABC News' Good Morning America (GMA).  Apparently, Virginia Moseley and Ben Sherwood were also former college classmates.

Do these relationships matter? Consider the coverage of the Benghazi fiasco and the news media's role in covering the story.  For example, CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson actively bulldogged investigations into the Benghazi incident.  Yet, her stories did not appear on broadcast for five months.  Could this be because CBS News is run by the brother of a White House official actively involved in "crafting" the official Obama Administration's message on Benghazi?

California April 2013 Unemployment Rate

California's official unemployment rate continued to improve in April 2013, dropping by 0.4% from March to 9.0%.  California's unemployment rate continues to lag the nation as a whole and is the 4th-highest in the nation ahead of Nevada, Illinois, and Mississippi.

SOURCE:  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:  Unemployment Rate for States, Seasonally Adjusted (April 2013, preliminary).
www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

The total number of non-farm payroll jobs in California continues to improve and presently stands at 14,602,200.  The current levels is down 539,900 jobs since January 2008.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:  California, Total Nonfarm, Seasonally adjusted - SMS06000000000000001.

data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?sm+06

April 2013 Jobs Charts

California March 2013 Unemployment Rate Compared to the Other 49 States

California's state unemployment rate dropped 0.2% from 9.6% in February down to 9.4% in March.  Despite the improvement, California tied with Mississippi for the nation's 3rd-highest unemployment rate behind Nevada and Illinois.  In February, California was tied for highest unemployment.

Nationally, the percentage of people participating the civilian workforce (EMRATIO) remains relatively low and stagnant, despite the Obama Administration's $787 billion Stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, ARRA).  The current level remains roughly at its lowest in a generation--since the major recession during the early years of the Reagan Administration.  One of the provisions of the ARRA provided up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits--nearly two years--which may have reduced job-seeking activities.  Likewise, the uncertainty of threatened tax hikes and the costs of implementing the Affordable Care Act (i.e. ObamaCare) may have reduced hiring activity.

Similarly, the average or mean duration of unemployment (UEMPMEAN) remains well above previous levels, although it has dropped slightly since its record high in 2011.  The average duration of unemployment remains well above--almost double--the previous-record levels set during the early 1980s.

Total non-farm employment (PAYEMS) continues to grow, although at a slower rate than after the last three recessions.  Note the slope of the dashed burgundy lines in the chart below.  The slope is shallower during the current recession, indicating slower job growth.  Total employment has not yet surpassed the previous peak in 2008.  During the current recession, total payroll fell below the trough of the previous dip for the first time since data was collected (1939).

California February 2013 Unemployment Rate Compared to the Other 49 States

California's state unemployment rate dropped 0.2% from 9.8% in January down to 9.6% in February.  Despite the improvement, California tied with Mississippi and Nevada for the states with the highest unemployment rate.

See also ...

• California January 2013 Unemployment Rate Compared to 49 Other States
• California December 2012 Unemployment Rate Compared to 49 Other States
• California November 2012 Unemployment Rate Compared to 49 Other States

Our Business' Real-World Experiences with ObamaCare and Blue Shield of California

Remember how the "Affordable" Car Act (ACA), a.k.a. ObamaCare would going to make health care--er, well--affordable?  As usual, be afraid when somebody says, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."  Here's our small business' real-world experiences with ObamaCare.  We are admittedly a small company so our experience, while certainly not unique, may not apply universally.  The number of employees has not changed since 2008.

Note the rapid procession of increases after President Obama proposed what eventually become the "Affordable" Care Act (ACA) and the large increase  (30%!) shortly after the President signed the bill into law after it passed Congress on a one-party, majority-forced vote.

According to the Society of Actuaries, even more "good news" awaits California's small businesses, with up to 62% more increases coming by 2017.  Supposedly, there will eventually be a small business credit under ACA, but I'll believe it when I see it.  Currently, it just means that our health care insurance costs have DOUBLED in the last four years with no improvements in benefits or services.  Thank you, Washington!  It's there somebody else that needs your "help"?

Now, back to figuring out how to double our revenues in less than four years to pay for all this "help".

California January 2013 Unemployment Rate Compared to 49 Other States

The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the January 2013 seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for each state.  This release was delayed from late February until mid-March, perhaps because the BLS was adjusting the last two years worth of data.

Regardless, California's unemployment rate remains stubbornly steady at 9.8%.  Thanks to big improvements by Nevada in January, California is now tied for worst unemployment with Rhode Island.

The BLS will release the February 2013 unemployment data on 29-MAR-2013.