A recent Vanity Fair piece noted that outlets and journalists are having a hard time reporting on Gov. Ron DeSantis’, R-Fla., administration because of its "guardedness with the press."
The piece explained how in the lead up to the 2024 election, prominent media outlets have been competing to find journalists familiar with the DeSantis administration to report on it, as the governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate’s team is "inherently distrustful of the press."
Vanity Fair staff writer Charlotte Klein wrote Friday, "It can be particularly challenging to report inside DeSantis’s orbit, which makes the jockeying by news organizations all the more competitive. For one, it’s hard to source up inside an operation that appears inherently distrustful of journalists."
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Klein quoted one anonymous journalist, who claimed that DeSantis’ team seemed like it’s "running a straight-up opposition campaign against the media."
The author noted that though former President Donald Trump had an adversarial relationship with media, he allowed journalists more access than DeSantis has.
She wrote, "Despite the fact that Trump has bashed the media for years, he—and others in his orbit—seemed to have reporters on speed dial during his chaotic presidency. DeSantis’s guardedness with the press, another political reporter said, has been ‘a little bit of a culture shock."
Klein quoted another unnamed reporter who claimed that during the Trump administration, journalists were "swimming in leaks." They added, "We all took advantage of the knife fighting over at the White House—that’s how everyone got their leaks."
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However, so far there haven’t been many leaks from the DeSantis team. Another reporter told Klein, "DeSantisworld doesn’t leak because DeSantisworld basically doesn’t really exist." They elaborated, "It’s like four, five people who know what’s going on. That’s going to change as he starts to build out the organization."
Klein added, "DeSantis is known to keep a tight circle, with his wife, Casey, considered his ‘closest confidant and adviser.’"
The reporter referring to "DeSantisworld," gave Klein a window into DeSantis’ media strategy, saying, "It’s one guy who doesn’t have much of a crew around him, and part of his secret sauce is to poke a thumb in the eye of the media." The reporter suggested outlets find "Someone who is able to talk the language of Republicans to deal with them."
Yet another reporter from a "major outlet" told Vanity Fair, "Everyone is coming from a point of deficit. We all have sources in his orbit, but I don’t think there’s anyone who’s owning or dominating the DeSantis beat."
Klein closed out her piece with a tidbit from a political reporter claiming that journalists familiar with Florida politics are going to be sought after by outlets soon. "If you’re a Florida reporter, wired into Tallahassee, you’re more valuable," they said.
