You have to hand it to President Obama for understanding how to control the message in a 24/7 media world. Giving his first televised TV interview to an Arab network is bold enough. Then, to top it off, he delivers a line that easily finds itself as the prevailing sound bite from the interview – “All too often the United States starts by dictating…” Politics aside, the new administration gets the media gig far better than their predecessors.

Even as Obama eschews the posture of dictating politically, he excels at dictating the media debate. I would say that there is some level of manipulation going on here which is what made this interview effective. His handlers must have known that their choice of media would be provocative enough to generate news. Its premeditated media and, to the extent that Obama wants to turn over a fresh page after the last 8 years, it is working. Who knew they would go so far as to extend this New Day/New Era campaign into the Middle East!

How long will the media honeymoon last…months, weeks? Journalists, namely elite media, will resent being treated like glorified stenographers. Some already are pining for more access.

I wonder if print and broadcast realize their place in this new media world? In a way, individually, they are like websites and blogs, outlets for delivering a message. Some would argue they offer a more fulsome role in public life as investigators, the truth squad.

For a President who ascended largely due to his mastery of new media, this will be a fun drama to watch play out before our eyes.