Everything comes into play during the State of the Union speech.
You have the leader of the free world, the president of the United States of America.
You have the undivided attention of the press, giving that speech the full spectrum of earned media: live TV coverage, pre-speech stories, live-blogging, post-speech Man on the Street reactions, polls, focus groups, editorials, opinion columns, radio talk shows -- everything.
The entire press corps mobilizes for this one speech. In a non-campaign year, this is the political Super Bowl.
It's also a case study in how the highest-profile public figure on the planet interacts with the press and public.
1) Before the Speech
The White House leaks the full text of the speech to reporters, so they can get a head start. This is a courtesy, and it's tricky, because you don't want the full text to leak and get posted on the web -- though that is exactly what tends to happen -- but you don't want to snub the press by playing favorites and leaking the text to narrowly.
The White House and its allies also work the TV pundits and opinion columnists, trying to set expectations for the speech and lay groundwork for what the president will say.
The opposition is also busy. The party out of power typically has a rebuttal speech after the State of the Union, and they have to write a polished rebuttal of what they THINK the president will say, then adjust that rebuttal on the fly.
They're also talking to pundits, opinion columnists and the press, trying to frame the reaction to the speech.
2) During the Speech
The press looks beyond the words to the symbolism and strategy involved. It's a bit like reading tea leaves. Is the president trying to shore up the base with that line?
The president will typically try to outline an agenda for that year, and has the bully pulpit to do that.
The press also focuses of things the president and White House media staffers have little control over: the reaction of members of Congress, all 535 of whom are in the audience and on live television.
If the Republicans are standing and clapping while the Democrats sit on their hands, it's news. If the Speaker of the House makes a funny face, it's news. If the president shakes hands -- or hugs -- a supposed political enemy, it's news.
This year, the State of the Union had a few unusual twists.
President Barack Obama's party no longer controls the U.S. House, so one of the goals of the speech had to be reaching out to the new Republican majority.
The attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was felt throughout the speech, with lawmakers from both parties sitting next to each other rather than Republicans on one side and Democrats on another. An empty seat was also reserved for Giffords, and the tone was indeed less partisan than usual.
Obama referenced Giffords early and throughout his speech, he used centrist -- even conservative -- language, even when talking about traditionally liberal issues and goals.
3) After the Speech
Cable news channels have changed the game for State of the Union speeches and similar events like the presidential debates.
Before, you'd see the speech on TV and read about it in the newspaper the next day. Now, news channels have snap polls on how citizens around the nation reacted to the speech, focus groups, man on the street interviews -- and, of course, reaction from TV pundits, politicians and strategists.
There's also the opposition's rebuttal to the State of the Union, which this year was overshadowed a bit by unusual counter-programming from another Republican, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who wasn't picked by her party to speak, but gave a speech anyway on behalf of the Tea Party Express.
The text of her speech was overshadowed by a fatal flaw in the setup: Rep. Bachmann seemed to be looking over the shoulder of viewers and never at the camera.
Turns out, she was looking directly at the webcam, which wasn't doing a live feed, instead of the CNN camera that was doing live feed. Regardless of the content of her speech, that simple mistake of line of sight and camera angles made her lose any connection with the live TV audience.
In terms of reaction to Obama's speech, blogs posted instant reactions to the pundit's declarations on television. Every statistic, claim and phrase Obama uttered was analyzed and fact checked and pondered by hundreds of different writers, think tanks and interest groups.
It's an amazing operation with dozens of players and moving pieces, and this speech -- like every other State of the Union -- will continue to be referred to whenever an issue or event Obama referenced comes into play in Congress or elsewhere.