Feeding the Beast: The White House Versus the Press

About the Book

From George Washington to George W. Bush, Presidents have always complained about the press--and the media have never been happy with the White House. Their uneasy but important relationship is the subject of Feeding the Beast: The White House Versus the Press. Kenneth T. Walsh, chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, draws on his more than 15 years covering the presidency in this incisive analysis. He reveals much inside information about the White House, with a special emphasis on the four Presidents he has covered--Geroge W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Herbert Walker Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Walsh also delves into the history of the relationship from the beginning of the Republic, making his book all the more valuable not only to general readers but to students of the presidency and those who wish to understand today´s media world. Feeding the Beast concludes with a hard-hitting analysis of the contemporary news media and shows how the media have grown into a voracious beast demanding to be fed 24 hours a day. Too often, Walsh argues, the media suffer from four basic flaws: injecting too much attitude into their work; assuming an overly negative approach; rushing to judgment about people, events, and trends, and ignoring the values and concerns of Middle America.

About the Author

Kenneth T. Walsh has covered the presidency for U.S. News & World Report since 1986. He has won of the two most prestigious awards for White House reporters, the Aldo Beckman Award and the Gerald R. Ford Prize (which he has won twice). He is a former president of the White House Correspondents' Association and has served as an adjunct professor of communication at American University in Washington. Mr. Walsh lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Barclay. He has two grown children, Jean and Chris.