I like the way Newt Gingrich has punches out the press. I like it when the audience at a recent debate jumped to its feet and cheered his press bashing. I hope he continues doing it.

I like it all, and as a member of the press for 33 years, I can tell you with certainty that the press likes it, too.

No, they don’t just like it, They love it.

Daryl Cagle / msnbc.com (click to view more cartoons by Cagle

Except for CNN’s John King, who melted into the ground when Gingrich fired a few shots at him, the press is looking for opportunities like Gingrich’s outbursts to shed the limelight on itself. It doesn’t matter if it’s not all positive, or even if it’s mostly negative. It’s the limelight that counts.

Members of the press tend to be egotists who want to make a name for themselves, much like politicians. Not many of us have chosen this career path to rewrite obituaries. We want to stand out, and we are driven by our egos to do things normal people would shy away from.

I was watching the news one night as a kid, and I saw Nixon taking a shot at Dan Rather at a news conference.

Rather shot back. He actually talked back to the president. He is going to be in big trouble now, I thought. What did I know? I was a kid.

Talking back to Nixon right there in the middle of the press conference is the best thing Rather could have done.

Tricia Nixon later told her dad that “Dan Rather is a bastard.”

Bingo. Rather’s light at CBS shined bright.

Had he done like King, Rather probably would have been busted to obituary writer.

King tried to punch back, but by the time he did, the fight was over, and Gingrich won. The press has to punch back fast and accurately. A miss is as bad as a King meltdown.

Remember when Bill O’Reilly interviewed President Obama right before the Super Bowl and hardly let Obama finish a sentence? O’Reilly couldn’t care less about hurting Obama’s feelings. He was improving on his own brand.

O’Reilly knew exactly what he was doing. He has hosted the No. 1 cable news show for many years. He knows when to jump into people’s faces right there on camera. He is ego-driven and doesn’t walk away from a good fight.

Go ahead. Send him hate mail. If it’s really hateful, he’ll read it on the air.

So, keep on attacking the press, Newt, but don’t overdo it because that’s bad for both you and the press. For example, when you pulled the trigger on Wolf Blitzer, he was ready and couldn’t care less that the audience was booing.

Why do you think they call him Wolf?

Note to politicians: bash the press, but don’t dare it.

Remember in 1988 when Gary Hart said this to the press corps?

“Follow me around. I don’t care. I’m serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They’ll be very bored.”

Guess what the press did? They took him up on it, and found Donna Rice, with whom he was having an extra marital affair. The Miami Herald busted him, and he was history.

Here is my last take on why press bashing is good for the press.

We always get the last word, but it’s going to take while to get there. We’ll milk the story to death, and love every second.