Smith’s press banter cultivated reporters while revealing nothing he wished concealed

Evidence

If one was close enough to Smith, there was little one couldn’t learn about the game of politics—the game that wasn’t a game at all—and Moses was close enough. He could watch the Governor twist arms, offer incentives and drop, one by one, with matchless guile, the veils from in front of threats. Watching Smith banter with reporters, seeing how much time he devoted to winning their friendship, Moses learned how important the press was in politics. Seeing that Smith used the banter to cover up the fact that he wasn’t telling the reporters anything he didn’t want them to know, Moses learned how the press could be used. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 609

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how a master politician weaponizes charm as both information-control and relationship-building simultaneously — the dual function of press sociability.