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- Reporters recently complained about White House press staff asking questions in advance.
- This would give the impression that journalists are working with the administration.
- The White House did not deny the allegation and said it was integral to running a press office.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
On her first day in office, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pledged to bring “truth and transparency to the briefing room,” saying she had “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press ”.
But less than two weeks after President Joe Biden’s administration began, reporters are concerned that staff at the White House press office are trying to get them to give notice on the issues they are playing. to pose at briefings, The Daily Beast reported.
The problem with asking reporters questions in advance is that it could make the media appear to be working in conjunction with the Biden administration, giving officials time to craft good answers.
For years, the media have been accused of being too left and not critical enough of Democratic administrations. A recent Fox News report claimed journalists’ questions were too easy during Psaki’s first press briefing, comparing them to briefings from former President Donald Trump, when White House press secretaries rarely held briefings and often refused to answer questions.
According to The Daily Beast, reporters raised the issue of Psaki’s team trying to communicate their questions to them in advance during a Zoom call from the White House Correspondents Association last Friday.
Several sources told the Daily Beast that WHCA executives advised reporters to push back or not to respond to such requests.
“While it’s a relief to see briefings come back, especially with a commitment to factual information, the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House chooses and chooses the questions it wants. “said an anonymous White House correspondent. says The Daily Beast.
“It’s not really a free press at all.”
Insider has contacted the White House for comment on the report.
But the White House press team did not deny the allegation when contacted for comment by The Daily Beast, but explained that it was routine work necessary to make the press briefings as efficient as possible.
“Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for journalists and the public. To achieve this goal, you need to engage in regular dialogue with reporters who will be in the briefing room to understand how the White House can be of most use. to give them the information they need, ”a White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
“This two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people up to date with how the government is serving them.”
Read more: Biden already has a chief antagonist. It’s Ron DeSantis, the Florida GOP Governor whom Democrats have called “ Trump’s errand boy. ”
Two people told the Daily Beast that there is a priority for this type of behavior in the Trump administration, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders asking questions of some media before major press conferences or events.
And during the Bush and Obama administrations, if reporters wanted to interview cabinet secretaries, they were asked most of their questions, The Daily Beast said.
Eric Schultz, former Obama White House deputy press secretary, defended the practice with the Daily Beast.
“It’s a manual communication job. The briefing no longer makes sense if the press secretary has to ask questions several times instead of preparing to discuss what journalists are reporting on,” he said. -he declares.
“In a non-COVID environment, this would happen in casual conversations throughout the day in the lower and upper press. One of the few perks for reporters who hover over your desk all day is that you have a very quick idea of what they are. working on. “
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