( CNN ) -- During the Arab Spring , Hillary Clinton heralded Al-Jazeera 's coverage of momentous events in Egypt in 2011 . `` Like it or hate it , it is really effective , '' Clinton said of the network at a congressional hearing while she was secretary of state . She went on to decry `` a million commercials '' and `` arguments between talking heads , '' and `` the kind of stuff that we do on our news that is not providing information to us . '' The remarks primarily pointed out the growing influence Al-Jazeera was having on American viewers . But behind that , Clinton 's testimony was a top-down critique of U.S. media . `` Her comments went to the heart of the way the media structure works , '' Brian Stelter , host of CNN 's `` Reliable Sources , '' said . And for her , they are again quite relevant . Hillary Clinton is thinking about running for president , a candidacy -- and possible administration -- that would no doubt intensify the already close and sometimes sensational scrutiny of her and her husband . For Bill and Hillary Clinton , their view on the state of journalism in the United States comes from a place of deep knowledge and exposure . And like many who have been in the spotlight for a prolonged period , it 's a love-hate thing . Bill Clinton speaks out . A focus of national media speculation , debate and fascination for 25 years , their relationship with the press has ebbed and flowed . But on the whole , they have long questioned and doubted its motives . And over the past two weeks , both Clintons have let it be known those feelings still exist . On Wednesday at his alma mater , Georgetown University , Bill Clinton faulted journalists for how they covered policy issues , saying it is `` dimly understood '' and often `` disconnected from the consequences of the policies being implemented '' because of journalists . Bill Clinton plays professor , blasts media in Georgetown speech . `` If a policymaker is a political leader and is covered primarily by the political press , there is a craving that borders on addictive to have a storyline , '' said Clinton as his wife looked on . `` And then once people settle on the storyline , there is a craving that borders on blindness to shoehorn every fact , every development , everything that happens into the story line , even if it 's not the story . '' Last week , Hillary Clinton leveled an equally biting media critique , telling an audience at the University of Connecticut that `` journalism has changed quite a bit in a way that is not good for the country and not good for journalism . '' Hillary Clinton : Today 's media is more entertainment , less facts . `` A lot of serious news reporting has become more entertainment driven and more opinion-driven as opposed to factual , '' she said . `` People book onto the shows , political figures , commentators who will be controversial who will be provocative because it 's a good show . You might not learn anything but you might be entertained and I think that 's just become an unfortunate pattern that I wish could be broken . '' Common for politicians . This feeling among politicians is par for the course , said Paul Begala , a longtime Clinton confidant who attended Wednesday 's speech . `` It is an occupational hazard and it comes with the territory , '' said Begala , a CNN contributor . `` I do n't think it is any different for him than it was with President Obama , President Bush or President Reagan . '' Stelter echoed that sentiment . `` If you put ( either of the Clinton 's quotes ) in front of either President Bush , they would agree with most of the comments . '' From Whitewater to draft-dodging allegations to Monica Lewinsky , the media spotlight on the Clintons during their time in the White House was intense , and it affected them . For most of the eight years of the Clinton administration from 1993-2001 , the couple and their advisers worried about the `` vast right-wing conspiracy '' that they feared aimed to take them down . According to Clinton Library documents released by the National Archives , those feelings largely stemmed from the rise of the Internet and conservative blogs and chat rooms . The late Diane Blair , a longtime Clinton confidant and friend , kept a detailed diary of her exchanges with the first lady . According to Blair , whose personal documents gained media attention earlier this year , Clinton regularly expressed frustration and a deep distrust of the media . Confidant 's diary : Clinton wanted to keep records for 'revenge ' In January 1995 , Blair wrote that Clinton expressed `` her total exasperation with all this obsession and attention , and how hard she 's finding to conceal her contempt for it all . '' The most apparent next flashpoint on the relationship between the media and the Clintons came during Hillary 's 2008 race for the White House . Late into the Democratic primary process as it became clear that Barack Obama had the momentum , the Clinton campaign 's view of the media began to sour . The former President publicly and privately railed against what he called `` the most biased coverage in history , '' and both Clintons complained of what they believed to be a pervasive sexism dominating the campaign narrative . Bill Clinton even publicly called one campaign reporter `` sleazy '' and `` a really dishonest reporter . '' What 's ahead ? Now with Hillary Clinton admittedly `` thinking '' about a 2016 run , the question remains as to how her relationship with the media -- and its deep history -- could affect any campaign . Stelter thinks these latest tweaks of the media could be an attempt to `` work the refs . '' `` The Clintons have been choosing to go there , '' concluded Stelter . `` I do think one partial explanation has to do with any future campaign that we may see from Hillary Clinton . ''
Suspicions of the media by the Clintons is nothing new . But there 's new relevancy with Hillary Clinton thinking about a White House run . The two have made comments recently critical of news coverage .