Reporters Irked by White House's Handling of Briefing Questions
According to a report, members of President Joe Biden’s communications staff have asked White House reporters what questions they plan to bring to White House press secretary Jen Psaki during briefings, causing concern among the White House media corps.
Three sources familiar with the matter reputedly told The Daily Beast that the issue was raised during an informal White House Correspondents’ Association Zoom call on Friday.
“While it’s a relief to see briefings return, particularly with a commitment to factual information, the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want,” one White House correspondent said, according to the outlet.
“That’s not really a free press at all.”
WHCA leaders reportedly advised the journalists to push back against, or simply not respond to, the requests from the White House communications team.
“It pissed off enough reporters for people to flag it for the [WHCA] for them to deal with it,” another anonymous source said, The Daily Beast reported.
According to the outlet, Biden’s communications team did not deny the allocations but said they solicited questions in order to have a better relationship with reporters.
“Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for both reporters and the public,” a White House spokesperson reputedly told The Daily Beast.
“Part of meeting that objective means regularly engaging with the reporters who will be in the briefing room to understand how the White House can be most helpful in getting them the information they need.
“That two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people updated about how government is serving them.”
Psaki promised to bring “truth and transparency” to her briefings when she addressed the news media for the first time following Biden’s inauguration, The New York Times reported.
“I have deep respect for the role of a free and independent press,” Psaki said.
“We have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people.”
She also called on every reporter in the room.
Asking about questions prior to a news briefing isn’t a new practice in the White House, but Biden’s team is reportedly asking for specific questions instead of the general gist.
According to The Daily Beast, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was reported to ask certain news outlets about questions prior to high-profile events.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama also had their communications team find out the theme of questions reporters wanted to ask during interviews with Cabinet secretaries.
White House communications staff members in previous administrations also would informally meet with reporters prior to briefings, so they could get a sense of the topics the reporters were interested in that day.
“This is textbook communications work. The briefing becomes meaningless if the press secretary has to repeatedly punt questions, instead of coming equipped to discuss what journalists are reporting on,” Eric Schultz, the former deputy press secretary during the Obama administration, said, The Daily Beast reported.
“In a non-COVID environment, this would happen in casual conversations throughout the day in lower and upper press.
“One of the few upsides to reporters hovering over your desk all day is that you get a very quick sense of what they’re working on.”
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