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Biden’s White House press office has been criticized for reaching out to reporters on Capitol Hill to question them about the questions they will ask Press Secretary Jen Psaki during scheduled briefings, according to a report released Tuesday.
The practice has rattled members of the White House press corps who have expressed concerns that they could be seen as coordinating with political staff and alerted the White House Correspondents Association, reported the Daily Beast.
Reporters on a Zoom call last week urged other correspondents to push back the White House’s efforts to uncover the issues in advance or simply ignore them, according to the report.
“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. “a White House reporter told the website. “It’s not really a free press at all.”
“It pissed off enough reporters for people to report it [WHCA] for them to take care of it, ”said another.
The report notes that Biden’s press office attempted to create contrasts with the Trump administration’s more controversial relations with the media, and Psaki makes an effort to call all reporters during daily briefings.
And she said the White House and the reporters covering it had a “common goal, to share accurate information with the American people.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment, but a spokesperson did not deny the practice to the Daily Beast, saying it was speaking to reporters to gauge their interests so that they don’t seem to dodge questions at briefings.
“Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for journalists and the public,” a spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
“To achieve this goal, you have to engage regularly with reporters who will be in the briefing room to understand how the White House can be most helpful in providing them with the information they need. This two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people up to date with how the government is serving them, ”the person said.
Spectator USA editor-in-chief Amber Athey, who covered the White House for The Daily Caller, said she had never heard of reporters interviewed.
“The Trump administration certainly never asked me any questions in advance and I suspect the reporters would have been outraged by everyone if they had,” Athey told Fox News.
Conservative strategist Chris Barron said the practice would be “normal” in a “banana republic”.
“It’s absolutely unknown in this country,” Barron told Fox News.
But the Daily Beast reported that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, press secretary to former President Donald Trump, had asked news outlets for a warning on their questions ahead of high-profile press conferences.
Staff members of the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also interviewed reporters ahead of interviews with cabinet secretaries.
Eric Schultz, former Obama White House deputy press secretary, said knowing what reporters want to ask helps streamline briefings and ensure questions get answered.
“This is a manual communication job. The briefing no longer makes sense if the press secretary has to ask questions repeatedly, instead of being equipped to discuss what journalists are reporting on, ”Schultz said.
“In a non-COVID environment, this would happen in informal conversations throughout the day in the lower and upper press. One of the few perks for journalists who hover over your desk all day long is that you get a really quick idea of what they’re working on, ”he said.
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