Running against the media, which is one way to regard the Warren protests, is a long-established political tactic for stalled campaign. It signals that you’re an outsider who “they” are trying to block from office. It was a Nixon tactic, it’s a Trump tactic, it’s a Sanders tactic, and now it’s a Warren tactic. The Warren protest could be heartfelt or it could be a standard move to purchase some late-in-the-game outsider cred. Stranger things have happened in politics.

The press deserves a daily drubbing for its many sins—for being fickle; for celebrating novelty over substance; for its early swoon for O’Rourke; for elevating Biden to frontrunner when he’s lost every presidential primary he’s ever entered; for underestimating Sanders; for overdramatizing the news; for overhyping gotcha stories—the list goes on and on.

But in politics, scapegoating the press is usually a sign of frustration; it has never solved a candidate’s publicity problems. Just ask Richard Nixon. If Warren wants to reap favorable coverage, it’s up to her to plant the seeds. Or stop whining and start winning. Reporters are suckers for winners.