From WNYC in New York, this is on the media.

Brooke Gladstone is away this week.

I'm Bob Garfield.

For years, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the media's favorite portly blunt,

wisecracking, Paul, a human soundbite seemingly allergic to standard cliches and disingenuous political pieties.

He was a can-do Republican willing to do business with Democrats, even the despised Barack Obama.

This was the longest, tightest bear hug that I've ever seen between Chris Christie and Barack Obama.

Yes, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, on the eve of a national election, he actually

hugged the president.

But Chris Christie has had a tough winter.

In early January, what had seemed to be a benign traffic jam due to lane closings on the

George Washington Bridge was revealed to be a benign traffic jam due to lane closings on the George Washington Bridge

was revealed to be politically motivated revenge. And suddenly, tales of Christie administration's

strong-arming and dirty tricks were national news. Here's NBC's Brian Williams in January.

Emails have been released showing the traffic backup was the work apparently of

members of Christie's staff, among others, and that it was intentional and political meant to make

life difficult for a Democratic mayor on the Jersey side of the bridge. Last week, New Jersey's

largest newspaper, the Newark Star Ledger, recanted its 2013 endorsement of Christy months after the election.

Clearly, Chris Christie's fortunes and his prospects for a 2016 presidential bid have changed dramatically,

and so has his till now masterly handling of the news media.

Matt Katz of New Jersey Public Radio has been covering the governor since 2011.

He wrote a recent article for Politico about his time with Christy, titled,

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