--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In campaign reporting more than any other…" description: "\"In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press coverage, reporters aren't just covering a story, they're a part of it - influencing outcomes, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/michael-hastings-6810_action_in-campaign-reporting-more-than-any-othe_1655040.png" --- # In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press… ![“In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press coverage, reporters aren't just covering a story, they're a part of it - influencing outcomes, setting expectations, framing candidates - and despite what they tell themselves, it's impossible to both be a part of the action and report on it…” quote by Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/michael-hastings-6810_action_in-campaign-reporting-more-than-any-othe_1655040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/michael-hastings-6810_action_in-campaign-reporting-more-than-any-othe_1655040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/michael-hastings-6810_action_in-campaign-reporting-more-than-any-othe_1655040.png) > “In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press coverage, reporters aren't just covering a story, they're a part of it - influencing outcomes, setting expectations, framing candidates - and despite what they tell themselves, it's impossible to both be a part of the action and report on it objectively.” [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reporters become participants in political events, shaping narratives and expectations, which compromises true objectivity. **In simple terms:** Journalists influence politics while covering it. Key Takeaway Maintain distance to preserve impartial reporting. Themes journalism politics objectivity media influence Mood critical reflective Type journalistic analytical When to use this quote - election coverage - press briefings - candidate interviews - media analysis Key Concepts media ethics political communication reporter bias Questions to Reflect On - Can journalists ever be fully objective in political reporting? - What safeguards can reduce bias? A Different Perspective Balancing involvement and detachment is practically difficult in fast‑moving campaigns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign/) [Campaign Reporting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign-reporting-697176/) [Candidates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candidates/) [Coverage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coverage/) [Coverage Reporters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coverage-reporters-697177/) [Covering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covering/) [Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Framing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/framing/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Influencing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influencing/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Objectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectively/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Outcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outcomes/) [Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/part/) [Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press/) [Press Coverage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press-coverage-655585/) [Report](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/report/) [Reporters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporters/) [Reporters Aren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporters-aren-697178/) [Reporting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporting/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Themselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/themselves/) ## Related quotes > [The night before I began my career as a presidential campaign reporter, in September 2007, I finished Theodore White's 'The Making of the President,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-night-before-i-began-my-career-as-a-presidential-campaign/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [There's something structurally integrated with foreign coverage. Reporters often default to thinking of their government as the sort of ultimate authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-something-structurally-integrated-with-foreign-coverage/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Television reporters aren't really called reporters. They are called researchers. And that's really all they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/television-reporters-aren-t-really-called-reporters-they-are-called/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [Reporters aren't actually people!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-duffy/reporters-aren-t-actually-people/) [Troy Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-duffy/) > [Reporters aren't stupid. We were standing around talking about which of the 900 health-care proposals that nobody's going to accept is that day's hot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/reporters-aren-t-stupid-we-were-standing-around-talking-about-which/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“The only difference between a suicide and a martyrdom really is the amount of press coverage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-only-difference-between-a-suicide-and-a-martyrdom-really-is-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [It's part of Donald Trump's psychodynamics to always care about his press coverage intensely. He's more interested in that than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-part-of-donald-trump-s-psychodynamics-to-always-care-about-his/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“According again to Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, discussion of public policy accounted for just 10 percent of all campaign news coverage in the general election.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/according-again-to-harvard-s-shorenstein-center-discussion-of-public/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“Because the only difference between a suicide and a martyrdom really is the amount of press coverage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-the-only-difference-between-a-suicide-and-a-martyrdom-really/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Press coverage has been difficult for him. I did not set out to ensnare him with a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-bashir/press-coverage-has-been-difficult-for-him-i-did-not-set-out-to/) [Martin Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-bashir/) > [That is the White House, where you can fit four times the amount of people in the press conference, allowing more press, more coverage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reince-priebus/that-is-the-white-house-where-you-can-fit-four-times-the-amount-of/) [Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reince-priebus/) > [ It's both strategic, to get people's minds off other things, and to pick an internal enemy. It's part of \[Donald Trump's\] psychodynamics to always… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/it-s-both-strategic-to-get-people-s-minds-off-other-things-and-to/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [You know, in this business, you don't have any control over what the press says and how they portray things. And that's their prerogative.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/you-know-in-this-business-you-don-t-have-any-control-over-what-the/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [The truth is, if I was maybe better or funnier or prettier, wouldn't I have starred in a movie? I can see it objectively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-greer/the-truth-is-if-i-was-maybe-better-or-funnier-or-prettier-wouldn-t-i/) [Judy Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-greer/) > [He's psychologically damaged, I suppose, if you stand back and look objectively at him, but then, who isn't?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-darrow/he-s-psychologically-damaged-i-suppose-if-you-stand-back-and-look/) [Paul Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-darrow/) ## More by Michael Hastings > [I have a deep-seated skepticism about the morality of violence. Violence is almost always morally corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-have-a-deep-seated-skepticism-about-the-morality-of-violence/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The humanitarian argument is so selective I find it difficult to swallow. It's not even so much about the choice as to where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-humanitarian-argument-is-so-selective-i-find-it-difficult-to/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If Bill O'Reilly is calling you a far-left critic, in my book, no matter what your political persuasion is, that's probably - that probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-bill-o-reilly-is-calling-you-a-far-left-critic-in-my-book-no/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [I'm post-cynical on this stuff. I look at the El Salvador model as the glory days: Why don't we just fund the death squads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-m-post-cynical-on-this-stuff-i-look-at-the-el-salvador-model-as-the/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Whether or not Afghanistan would be a peaceful nation-state had we not gone into Iraq I doubt. Afghanistan is going to be Afghanistan, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/whether-or-not-afghanistan-would-be-a-peaceful-nation-state-had-we/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [One of their major initiatives was getting all officers on Facebook. So the question is, why are these people who are there to train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/one-of-their-major-initiatives-was-getting-all-officers-on-facebook/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [It was interesting watching the Afghanistan war review deliberations, this three-month process where Barack Obama did the most thorough foreign policy review ever by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/it-was-interesting-watching-the-afghanistan-war-review-deliberations/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Inside the White House there were always extreme amounts of doubt about whether they should be escalating in Afghanistan. In fact, most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/inside-the-white-house-there-were-always-extreme-amounts-of-doubt/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The State Department is essentially... I was going to use the word useless. But I don't know if that's correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-state-department-is-essentially-i-was-going-to-use-the-word/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If someone tells you something is off the record, I don't print it. If they don't tell me something is off the record, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-someone-tells-you-something-is-off-the-record-i-don-t-print-it-if/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [If you polled the military in Afghanistan as to how many think we should be there or not, the numbers would probably be similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/if-you-polled-the-military-in-afghanistan-as-to-how-many-think-we/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [“Her name has been released to the press. Her photograph is released, too. I want to talk to the press about it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/her-name-has-been-released-to-the-press-her-photograph-is-released/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [The frightening aspect is that it's part of a larger effort from the Pentagon to tear down the wall between public affairs and propaganda,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-frightening-aspect-is-that-it-s-part-of-a-larger-effort-from-the/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [An information operations team was sent to Afghanistan to conduct various psychological operations on the Afghans and Taliban. The team was then asked not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/an-information-operations-team-was-sent-to-afghanistan-to-conduct/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) [Explore all 97 Michael Hastings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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