YOU KNOW WHAT TALKS, YOU KNOW WHAT WALKS - AT 8:35 A.M. ET:  Apparently the television networks, although in love with President Obama, are putting their passions aside and consulting their wallets.  From The Hollywood Reporter:

By and large, they personally forked out for his campaign, they voted for him, and they know he is capable of boosting TV ratings just by making an appearance.

But executives at the Big Four broadcast networks are seething behind the scenes that President Obama has cost them about $30 million in cumulative ad revenue this year with his three primetime news conference pre-emptions.

Now top network execs quietly are hoping that Fox's well-publicized rejection of the president's April 29 presser will serve as precedent for denying future White House requests for prime airtime.

"We will continue to make our decisions on White House requests on a case-by-case basis, but the Fox decision gives us cover to reject a request if we feel that there is no urgent breaking news that is going to be discussed," said one network exec, who, like all, would not speak for attribution fearing repercussions from the administration.

And...

Although Obama's post-election visits to NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and CBS' "60 Minutes" served as major ratings boosts, the love affair between the networks and the Democrat darling actually might be cooling: There are too many demands, and too much money is at stake.

COMMENT:  There are two main issues here:  1)  the president is overexposed; and 2) the news conferences don't produce any news.

During the great Depression, President Roosevelt gave a series of fireside chats, by radio.  Each one told the American people exactly what he was doing to change conditions in the country.  They were far more effective than press conferences, which generally feature a series of not-very-vital questions.  Right now, President Obama runs the risk of wearing out his welcome.

If the president were great at press conferences, it might be a different story.  But he lacks Jack Kennedy's humor and irony.  So the sessions have generally been lifeless.

May 9, 2009