People magazine “equally important” as legitimate news outlets, according to Obama adviser

This would have immediately gotten Sarah Palin out of a pinch when Katie Couric probed her on her fave publications. Why not count a tabloid that does 8-page spreads of Ryan Lochte’s abs as a hard-talking source of impartial, relevant, and breaking-news journalism?

Daily Caller reports:

While Obama has avoided answering questions from the White House press corps for more than two months now, he has taken on other media outlets for interviews, including People magazine, “Entertainment Tonight” and a New Mexico radio station, where he discussed his taste in music. According to Cutter, making time for those outlets is as important as focusing on traditional media.

“I don’t think that they’re more important, but I think that they’re equally important,” Cutter said. “I think that’s where a lot of Americans get their news. And I think the president’s going to continue doing that. You know, Mitt Romney might have had two media availabilities, but what did he tell you, Jim, in those media availabilities?

“He told you he wasn’t going to release his taxes because he was afraid of getting attacked. And you know, he spouted off lies [about] the president’s Medicare system. So, do you find that media availability really useful if he is not being transparent about his own policies and distorting the president’s? ”