Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that the White House would now determine which reporters make up the press ‘pool’ – the group of journalists allowed into tight spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One.
Pool assignments had been in the hands of a democratically elected group of journalists, the White House Correspondents’ Association, to keep the White House from gatekeeping access.
President Donald Trump’s White House has already ousted the Associated Press from the pool over the wire service’s refusal to change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ in the AP’s influential style guide.
Leavitt claimed during Tuesday’s briefing that the new move would ‘give even greater access to the American people.’
‘We want more outlets and new outlets to have a chance ot take part in the press pool, to cover the administration’s unprecedented achievements up close, front-and-center,’ she said.
She continued: ‘As you all know for decades, a group of D.C.-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.’
‘Not anymore,’ the 27-year-old press secretary said.
‘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,’ Leavitt said. ‘Moving forward the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team.’
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that the White House would now determine which reporters make up the press ‘pool’ – the group of journalists allowed into tight spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One
Traditionally the pool consists of a reporter representing the three wire services – the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg – a television crew and correspondent, a print reporter, a radio reporter and five still photographers, which also includes the AP.
There are 13 press seats available on Air Force One – and media outlets pay for their flights on board the presidential aircraft.
Nobody took the seats of the AP reporter and photographer who were booted from Trump’s Presidents’ Day weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago and Miami.
Leavitt said that ‘legacy outlets’ would still be allowed to join the pool.
‘But new voices are going to be welcomed in as well,’ she said.
The press secretary said that a TV crew would still be invited to join the pool, as would a print reporter – who represents both newspapers and online outlets – and a radio pooler.
She said the White House would add in print and radio outlets ‘who have been denied access.’
‘And we will add additional outlets and reporters who are well-suited to cover the news of the dsay and ask substantive questions of the president of the United States,’ Leavitt said.
She didn’t say if the White House would continue to allow wire services to maintain a reporter in the pool every day.
