Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that the White House press team would now have control over determining which media members are part of the press pool, rather than the long-standing White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA). This change, which is a departure from decades of tradition, signals a new direction in how media access to the president will be granted moving forward.
“As you all know, for decades, a group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents’ Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces,” Leavitt explained. “Not anymore.” She then added, “I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations.”
This shift in the balance of power has the potential to make it easier for smaller or less traditional outlets to gain access to the White House while maintaining some level of access for legacy media organizations.
Leavitt emphasized that this change would ensure “well-deserving outlets who have been previously denied access” would now have the opportunity to join the press pool. At the same time, legacy media outlets would retain their place. She also assured the press that the rotation of the major television networks would continue to ensure the president’s remarks reached a wide global audience. To further expand access, additional streaming services that cater to different audiences would also be included in the pool.
This overhaul comes on the heels of another announcement that a seat at the James S. Brady Briefing Room traditionally reserved for White House staff would now be open to new media outlets during press briefings.
Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle and Axios co-founder Mike Allen were among the first “new media” members to occupy seats traditionally reserved for legacy media outlets. These outlets received the first questions in the briefing, a distinction typically given to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press, in particular, had filed a restraining order against Leavitt, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, challenging their decision to remove the outlet from the press pool for certain events. However, a federal judge denied the restraining order on Monday, allowing the administration to block their access.
The White House’s decision to shift control over the press pool has already sparked debate within the media community, with some praising the move for promoting greater variety and inclusion of new media outlets, while others raise concerns about the potential politicization of press access. As the policy is implemented, it will be closely monitored to see how it impacts media coverage of the president and the White House overall.
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What t a refreshing, clean, healthy scrubbed sight Leavitt is compared to what we endured during the previous four years of HELL
I find this comment — “The White House’s decision to shift control over the press pool has already sparked debate within the media community, with some praising the move for promoting greater variety and inclusion of new media outlets, while others raise concerns about the potential politicization of press access.” — First, the MSM outlets and thier water bearers have preached Diversity and Inclusion for years, yet when the White House, under President Trump, decides to make the President more accessible to non-MSM outlets, some how the Diversity and Inclusion arguments i not longer valid. What hypocrites!! The second comment about this making the White House press core a ‘politiciztion of press access’ is right out-‘n-out funny. Isn’t the White House Press Core already politicized by the simple fact that you have to be a liberal, leftist, elitist to even begin to belong to the White House Correspondent’s Association? Another typical hypocrital Democrat ploy to control the narrative.