A woman’s magazine like Glamour would not traditionally be in play for an interview with the President — first ladies have been more their turf — but agreeing to the interview is a mark of changing media strategies. The Obama campaign has recently been exploring alternative news outlets to press their message — ESPN Magazine, People magazine and Entertainment Tonight have all scored interviews, much to the dismay of the White House press corps, who have not enjoyed the usual privilege of questioning the President since Aug. 19. Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for the campaign, described these outlets as being “equally important” to traditional political media.

Glamour pitched them on a big audience, said Washington editor Linda Kramer Jenning. “There’s a lot of attention being paid to young, women voters,” Jenning said. “That’s the calling card that opens the door.” It took five months to lock down some face time.