The adversarial relationship between the media and government is natural because by nature, the media is continually seeking information the government would rather us not know about or publish.

It is not unusual for our elected officials to be angry with us from time to time over something we've written, and I expect occasional (or not so occasional) objections over stories, headlines, photos and questions about bias and balance.

But the nasty battle between Fox News and the Obama administration seems an extraordinary example of the White House singling out one media organization out of the dozens that cover the Oval Office.

By treating the news network "the way we would treat an opponent," as a White House spokeswoman told The New York Times, the administration adds to Fox's massive and increasingly partisan viewership (1.2 million viewers) and fuels the perception that the president of the United States is more thin-skinned and sensitive to criticism than he lets on.

Spokeswoman Anita Dunn said of Fox: "As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don't need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave."

In the past week, the White House refused a request from a Fox news reporter to interview Treasury Department official Kenneth Feinberg but relented when other networks said they would not be part of a pool arrangement unless Fox was included.

To be sure, Fox personalities — most notably Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly — regularly skewer President Obama, but that's no different than newspaper columnists or editorial writers with opinions that are separate from news reporting. By fighting with Fox or skipping appearances on the network, Obama gives the impression that he and his adminstration do not tolerate dissenting opinion.

Of course, Fox harms its own credibility by relentlessly playing up the schism between itself and the Obama administration in its broadcasts, interviewing outsiders about this faux controversy as if it were actual news. It may help ratings, but if Fox truly believes in its "fair and balanced" slogan, it needs to more objectively present both sides of the issues, particularly when it has to do with Barack Obama.

Mark Platte is senior vice president and editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at 525-8080. Or follow his Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/markplatte.