On Monday afternoon after the White House press briefing, the Briefing Room became the site of a robust and, at times, extremely heated debate about who gets to ask questions and how many as, thanks to longstanding power bestowed on the AP reporter, the Q&A portion of the briefing only lasted about 39 minutes.
A dozen reporters in the first two rows were able to question Jen Psaki, but those in the remaining five rows and standing in the back or along the sides of the room didn’t have their go after the AP’s Josh Boak pulled the plug. NewsBusters had access to the audio, which was uncut, from the debate. To hear the whole thing, click here.
It all began in the early days of the New York Post’s Steve Nelson shouted out to Boak, that “you don’t have to call the briefing over” Since “we had questions back here.”
Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett also spoke up, repeatedly noting the fact that five entire rows were ignored and, once she said that, longtime Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet, reporter, joined the conversation: “Yeah. It was called what? Why? Why did you do it?”
While the audio was unable to make out Boak’s full, initial answer, he suggested that time flies and some reporters were pressed for time, which led to the trio to slam Boak’s unilateral decision (click “expand”):
HALKETT: Okay. Well, if you had an out, why didn’t you guys limit it yourselves to one topic?
SWEET: Right. If you agree on the out, why don’t you organize yourselves on what — how you conduct yourselves during the briefing?
HALKETT: You all don’t think we have assignments, we don’t have editors, we don’t have deadlines?
BOAK: Liz! If you’d like to shout at me, come to the booth.
SWEET: No. It’s a discussion. No one’s yelling.
HALKETT: This — this involves everybody.
SWEET: But why did you — see —
NELSON: The briefing was ended by your decision.
SWEET: — yeAh.
White House Correspondents Association president and CBS News Radio correspondent Steven Portnoy stood up to insist it’s been this way for “decades for a senior wire reporter to conduct the briefing and end it when we feel we’ve had enough.”
Portnoy stated the obvious that this didn’t happen on Monday and, going forward, suggested that “it might be appropriate” for the rest of the room to work together to “send” a “signal…to the AP man or woman, so that he or she could signal to the press secretary that we have had enough.”
Sweet was trying to be collaborative by saying “everyone’s trying here,” so perhaps it’s time to “figure out a sense of equity” However, the top journalists can still be contacted. “ask a lot of the general questions.”
Portnoy admitted the “responsibility” of having more people get questions “falls to…each one of us who gets recognized,” but Halkett said she’s raised that concern “for four years,” only to have nothing happen
Someone shouted out a question of only one question per reporter, but Portnoy replied that he’s “not going to tell any one else how to do their job” as he wasn’t “elected” to do that and “[t]his is all about making sure that the public is represented with a variety of questions” And even more “well served by going to the back of the room.”
Things remained tense as exhibited by a sarcastic quip from Newsmax’s James Rosen that “they ought to just kill out the back three rows…because they’re not going to get called on” The White House Briefings can be turned into briefings at the State Department, since there are so many reporters “serve as potted plants.”
Portnoy tried to smooth things over, saying they’re engaged in “an important exercise…to ask questions on behalf of the public, our respective audiences, whether they are on cable television or on the internet or on radio or only on Twitter.”
Sweet suggested that Sweet find a solution. “the time-honored tradition” Helen Thomas left the project to allow the White House to decide. Portnoy was hesitant about letting this white house decision-making process go, as it seems that Portnoy is not ready for abandoning this rich tradition. “that is something that is up to the White House to decide.”
Boak finally came back to defend his self and said that he would do better. Needless to say, it didn’t go well (click “expand”):
BOAK: Look, here’s — here’s what I can tell you is standard. Briefings last 45 minutes. Everybody should have a chance to ask questions. If you have a question, as the AP reporter I’ll do my best to answer it. If I — if it doesn’t happen today, I’ll do it later. I volunteer. This is what I commit to. The briefing was just 43 minutes long today. I could have gone on for hours if it were up to me.
NELSON: Wasn’t it up to you?
[REPORTERS SHOUTING]
NELSON: Wasn’t it up to you? NELSON: Wasn’t it up to you?
SWEET: No, no that’s why —
NELSON: It wasn’t up to you then.
BOAK: It’s time to go. Cause I’m also respectful of other people’s schedules in order to ensure that other reporters outside the briefing room —
SWEET: — then let’s —
NELSON – Then, who took the final decision?
SWEET: — let’s just be collegial here.
Again refusing to commit on moving away from making the AP reporter judge and jury, Portnoy stated that Psaki’s “made a conscious decision to try to honor the long-standing traditions of the room”Since “the people before [her] [had] a different view.”
Skipping ahead a few minutes, Rosen stepped up to end the debate and do so with class (click “expand”):
ROSEN: One last thing. Steve, I think we all are very grateful for your leadership of the WHCA —
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHRISTIAN REPORTER :
ROSEN: — and the role the WHCA plays.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CHRISTIAN REPORTER : I am.
ROSEN: It is something that I believe we can all agree on. As adults, we are more likely to get the briefing the briefer wants us to receive. Okay. I think to Lynn’s point, the only think I would take issue with what you have said to date is that it is the decision of the White House briefer as to whether or not the — the leading wire service correspondent provides that end, that — that time that they designate. That is not the White House briefer’s decision what comes out of the mouth of the senior wire service correspondent at any given time. This is their decision. So, I think we’ve had a great, robust exchange and I think, you know, it’s probably best if it’s conducted within the confines of the WHCA process and we all go meet deadlines now.
After some applause for Rosen’s remarks, Portnoy capped it off by telling reporters they should stay focused on “the needs of the American people” as “that’s why we’re all here.”
You can click here for the relevant transcript following the briefing on March 7.
About Post Author
