President whose Justice Department spied on Fox News reporter values 'great journalism'

Brett T. | 12:33 AM on March 29, 2016

President Obama on Monday night delivered the keynote address at Syracuse University’s Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, which recognizes the importance of quality, fact-based political journalism, should there be any that year.

We’re not saying it was a love-fest between the president and the media — no, wait; that’s exactly what we’re saying. “You help me do my job better,” the president told the auditorium full of the administration’s finest stenographers.

Obama, talking about "how much I value great journalism," saying "you help me do my job better"—contrast to Trump calling media "disgusting"

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 29, 2016

@brianstelter Hilarious. Will press eat this up?

— bs dtectr (@bsdtectr) March 29, 2016

Well, it was an awards dinner.

@jacobmathews @brianstelter Obama hates the media more than Trump does. Last 7 years most secretive unfriendly media admin since Nixon.

— Max (@MHB2012) March 29, 2016

Unfriendly? Sure, there was that one time the president shot Major Garrett his most lethal death stare when asked why he’d left American hostages out of his historic Iran deal. Oh, and that whole business with Fox News reporter James Rosen.

You might remember that Attorney General Eric Holder personally signed off on a search warrant naming Rosen as a co-conspirator in the case of State Department contractor Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, who pleaded guilty to a felony count of disclosing classified information. The warrant enabled the DOJ to secretly obtain access to his private emails and even seize Rosen’s parents’ home phone records.