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New York Times
31-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
White House May Remake Reporters' Seating Chart, Escalating Tensions
Relations between the Trump administration and the White House press corps deteriorated further on Monday, as journalists pushed back on new plans to change their working arrangements in the West Wing. The latest skirmish came as the administration said that it would consider taking control of the reporters' seating chart in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, which for decades has been determined by the White House Correspondents' Association, a group of nearly 900 journalists who report on the president and his administration. Where a reporter sits for the televised briefings is a symbolic matter — it points to the perceived importance of a specific news outlet — and a practical one, too. Journalists in the front rows typically get more of their questions addressed by the press secretary during briefings. In a note to members, the board of the correspondents' association accused Trump officials of seeking 'to exert pressure on journalists over coverage they disagree with.' 'The White House should abandon this wrongheaded effort and show the American people they're not afraid to explain their policies and field questions from an independent media free from government control,' the board wrote. A change to the seating chart would amount to another encroachment by President Trump's aides into the day-to-day procedures of the journalists who cover them. White House officials now pick and choose certain news outlets to participate in the presidential press pool, and journalists from The Associated Press have been barred from attending certain events. The briefing room is a cramped space, built above a former swimming pool, in which journalists often crowd in to nooks and crannies for a chance to ask a question of the press secretary during briefings that are often televised live on cable TV. Axios first reported the White House's prospective plans to reorganize the assignments for the room's 49 permanent seats. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has framed the administration's changes as an effort to encourage employees at 'new media' outlets — including podcasters, right-wing talk-show hosts, and streaming sites — to join reporters at large legacy organizations like CNN, Reuters and The New York Times in covering the White House. 'We believe it is fundamentally unfair that a group of D.C.-based elitist journalists get to choose who gets to cover the president of the United States,' Ms. Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News on Monday. 'The media has changed a lot in the decades of press coverage here at the White House, and it's time that coverage changes with it.' The correspondents' association includes members from dozens of news organizations, small and large, and it has regularly reassigned seats in the press room — albeit often in the back rows — to reporters who work for upstart media outlets. The prime seats on the chart are typically reserved for large news organizations that employ nonpartisan journalists. 'For the public to get the information it needs to understand and make decisions about the most powerful office in the world, it needs news produced by experienced, professional journalists who ask tough questions and produce fair coverage,' the association's board said in its note. The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, responded on social media by describing the association's president as 'stupid.' Ms. Leavitt, described the group's response as 'fundamentally unserious.' Previous presidents of both parties abided by the White House press corps determining on its own which reporters were granted more access. But conservative-leaning organizations like Breitbart News have long complained that the association carries too much influence in determining which journalists get preferred access to the president or the press secretary. Many podcasters, influencers and smaller partisan outlets do not have the resources or staffing to regularly cover the daily activities of the president, which often entails expensive travel and meticulous transcriptions of his remarks. The tensions have also been reflected in shifting plans for this year's annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association, an event that in previous eras was considered a moment of comity between the president and his press corps. Since Mr. Trump's first term, the collegial atmosphere around the event has broken down. Ms. Leavitt has said she had no plans to attend the dinner on April 26. On Saturday, the correspondents' association said it had canceled a performance by Amber Ruffin, the scheduled entertainer, days after the publication of a podcast in which Ms. Ruffin derided Trump officials as 'kind of a bunch of murderers.' The Trump administration is considering hosting a rival event on the night of this year's dinner, and inviting reporters from new-media outlets and other venues outside of traditional news organizations to attend, according to a person told of the plans.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The White House PR Battle With White House Correspondents Nears a Boiling Point
The White House and the correspondents that cover it are increasingly at odds, as escalating battles over fairness, access, editorial decisions and a rapidly-changing media ecosystem are spilling into public view. The latest gambit? A White House takeover of the seating assignments in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. More from The Hollywood Reporter John Oliver Mocks Trump Administration for Adding Atlantic Editor to Military Ops Group Chat: "Another Week of Chaos" Michael Bublé Takes Dig at Donald Trump Over Canada at Juno Awards: "We Are Not for Sale" White House Correspondents' Association Cancels Amber Ruffin Performance at Annual Gala Dinner The White House is preparing to take control of the seating assignments in the room, and the White House Correspondents' Association, which represents the journalists that cover the President and his administration, is preparing to push back. The WHCA board sent its members a note Monday, telling them what it was planning to do after Axios reported Sunday that the White House was preparing a 'fundamental restructuring of the briefing room, based on metrics more reflective of how media is consumed today.' While the details are not known, it is possible that some news organizations that have seats could be moved toward the back rows, or not have any guaranteed seats at all, while outlets that are friendlier could receive better treatment. The WHCA says that it reached out to the White House Sunday after the report came out. 'The White House should abandon this wrong-headed effort and show the American people they're not afraid to explain their policies and field questions from an independent media free from government control,' the WHCA told its members Monday. 'But if the White House pushes forward, it will become even more clear that the administration is seeking to cynically seize control of the system through which the independent press organizes itself, so that it is easier to exact punishment on outlets over their coverage.' The organization noted that the White House had already banished the Associated Press from covering many events because the AP Style Guide still uses the language 'Gulf of Mexico' rather than 'Gulf of America.' It was a move that seemed to ignite a public war of words between the administration and the WHCA, with the AP now suing in court over the matter, and the WHCA filing an amicus brief in support of the AP. The WHCA may be best known to the public for its annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, which traditionally is attended by the President, and with a popular entertainer (usually a comedian) giving a performance. During his first term President Trump opted not to attend, and reports indicated that he was not planning to attend this year's dinner, which will be held next Month. The WHCA told its members on March 29 that it had canceled a planned performance by comedian Amber Ruffin at its annual dinner, after members of the White House press team amplified comments she made on a podcast in which she referred to members of the administration as 'kind of a bunch of murderers.' 'At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,' WHCA president Eugene Daniels wrote in a note to WHCA members. The WHCA also pushed back on the claim that the changes are meant to elevate digital journalists that are more reflective of the modern media ecosystem. 'Our organization has always been and will always be open to professional outlets covering the White House, and we've evolved over more than a century to reflect the changes in our press corps,' the WHCA wrote. 'The most obvious end result of this reported plan is the punishment, not elevation, of journalists.' That being said, there is no question that the media ecosystem writ large has been going through a massive transformation, with creators, podcasters and other commentators finding significant audiences on new media platforms. The White House understandably wants to elevate many of those voices (many of which are pro-Trump), while the WHCA understandably wants to give priority to journalists that cover the administration day in and day out priority. But for a White House obsessed with dealmaking, Axios raised another possibility that could deescalate things: A WHCA member reportedly brought up the possibility of having the White House Press Secretary always serve as the organization's president. it was an idea, however, that the WHCA pushed back on. 'We'll also add the notion of having the White House press secretary preside over an independent organization of journalists who are negotiating access with the administration is ridiculous,' the board wrote. 'No board member or official representative of the WHCA has ever put forward such a non-starter suggestion.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2024: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Olivia Rodrigo and More
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Correspondents' Association pushes back on rumors of White House briefing room shake-up
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is pushing back on reports of a potential shake-up coming to the West Wing briefing room and vowing to fight the Trump administration's efforts to take greater control of the media covering his second term. The WHCA board said Monday it was 'aware' of reports the White House is considering taking over the briefing room seat assignments. 'The White House should abandon this wrong-headed effort and show the American people they're not afraid to explain their policies and field questions from an independent media free from government control,' the WHCA said. The report, published by Axios over the weekend, suggested the White House could soon change who sits where in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, decisions typically made by the WHCA. It also cited an anonymous source who suggested White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt could be implemented as WHCA president as a way 'to de-escalate' tensions between reporters covering President Trump and the White House. 'The most obvious end result of this reported plan is the punishment, not elevation, of journalists,' the WHCA said in its statement. 'We'll also add the notion of having the White House press secretary preside over an independent organization of journalists who are negotiating access with the administration is ridiculous. No board member or official representative of the WHCA has ever put forward such a non-starter suggestion.' The rumors come just weeks after the administration took control of the White House press pool, a smaller group of reporters allowed in key West Wing spaces, with Trump seeking to include more independent and 'new media' outlets in the body. The White House has also banned The Associated Press from the press pool over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, a move the wire service has sued the administration over. 'The White House picked this fight and continues to do so,' the WHCA said. 'Our members want to cover the administration without fear or favor, and stand ready to question government officials from any corner of the Brady Briefing Room.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
