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Archives for February 2017

NYT Editor Dean Baquet Defends Use of Anonymous Sources

February 27, 2017 By WHC Insider

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Dean Baquet, editor of the New York Times, recently defended mainstream media’s usage of anonymous sources during an interview on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”

“These are not people who pull us aside because they want to screw Donald Trump. These are people who are worried about the direction of government.”

President Donald Trump has continuously blasted the use of unnamed sources in stories critical about administration policies and decisions. He recently said during a speech at CPAC that the media “shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name.”

Baquet pointed out the hypocrisy of the administration on using secret sources in stories. He stated Trump has “been an anonymous source throughout his career, especially when it helped him and when it burnished his reputation.”

For example, in 2012 Trump claimed President Obama was not born in the United States, basing his claim on an “extremely credible source.”

Filed Under: Media Strategy, News Media

President Trump Will Not Attend Correspondents’ Dinner

February 25, 2017 By WHC Insider

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday on Twitter that he will not attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this April.

I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017

Every president since 1924 has attended at least one association dinner during his term in office. The last time a sitting president did not attend was 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt.

Proceeds from the annual event contribute toward scholarships for future journalists.

Filed Under: 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner, Donald Trump

Bloomberg Cancels Correspondents’ Dinner Afterparty

February 24, 2017 By WHC Insider

Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Bloomberg L.P. will not host its popular afterparty following the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this year, as reported first by Mike Allen at Axios.

As per a spokesperson with Bloomberg:

“We surveyed some of the past attendees and didn’t get as much interest in a party this year as we’ve had in the past, so we decided to focus on the dinner and the WHCA.”

Vanity Fair — Bloomberg’s long term co-host for this annual afterparty – had announced earlier this month it would not participate.

Strong interest in tickets by news organizations suggests the Correspondents’ dinner will be sold out again this year, as always.

Filed Under: 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner, Event Coverage, News Media, Uncategorized, WHCA Dinner

Major Media Banned from Friday’s White House Q&A

February 24, 2017 By WHC Insider

James Brady Press Briefing Room, 2007. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s Friday question-and-answer session will occur without major news outlets such as Politico, CNN, the New York Times, BuzzFeed and the Los Angeles Times.

Instead of the standard on-camera briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, Spicer instead held an off-camera “gaggle” inside his West Wing office.  Attendees were welcomed to the session by invitation only.

Some major news organizations were also let in, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Reuters and Bloomberg.

Jeff Mason, the White House Correspondents’ Association president, blasted the situation.

“The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today’s gaggle is being handled by the White House.  We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not.  The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.”

The White House has not commented on the situation.

Filed Under: Correspondents, Donald Trump, Event Coverage, News, News Media, Press Secretaries, The White House, White House Staff

New Veep Teaser Shows Julia Louis-Dreyfus “Spreading Democracy Like Patient Zero”

February 24, 2017 By WHC Insider

In a newly released trailer for the smash hit Veep, former President Selina Meyer – played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus – plots her second act after being ousted from the Oval Office, travelling the globe and “spreading democracy like Patient Zero.”

Season Six of the award winning HBO comedy brings many of Meyer’s staff members along for the ride – characters Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh), Gary Walsh (Tony Hale) and Richart T. Splett (Sam Richardson) all make appearances in the trailer as well.

Veep returns to HBO on April 16.  Set your calendars for another amazing season!

Filed Under: TV, Veep

White House Chief Strategist Continues Chiding the Media

February 23, 2017 By WHC Insider

Photo Courtesy of Haddad MediaAppearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside of Washington, DC, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon continued the administration’s attack on the media as the “opposition party.”

According to transcripts of his speech, Bannon said that:

“If you look at the opposition party, how they portrayed the campaign, how they portrayed the transition, how they portray the administration, it’s always wrong. If you remember, the campaign, by the media’s description, was the most chaotic, the most disorganized, most unprofessional, had no idea what they were doing. And then you saw [the media] all crying and weeping”

Bannon is the former head of Breitbart News and has long embraced the position of vocal media antagonist.

Filed Under: Correspondents, Donald Trump, Event Coverage, News Media, White House Staff

President Trump Asks April Ryan, a Veteran White House Correspondent Who Is African American, to Set Up Meeting with Congressional Black Caucus

February 17, 2017 By WHC Insider

Kevin Liles, Amy Ryan, Hilary Rosen. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

During yesterday’s Q&A with the media, President Donald J. Trump responded to a question from April Ryan, long-time White House correspondent and author of At Mama’s Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White by asking her to arrange a meeting for him with the Congressional Black Caucus.

Late in a news conference that lasted over an hour, Ryan – who is African American – asked the president about a campaign pledge to revitalize American urban centers, often referred to by Trump as “inner-cities.”

The president’s response started with him stating that her question was “very professional and very good,” then followed up by Trump stating he received “a much higher percentage of the African American vote than a lot of people thought” due to his focus on this issue.

Ryan then followed up by asking the president if he was going to include the CBC” the Congressional Black Caucus, an organization of African-American Members of Congress, in discussions.

“I’ll tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?” the president responded.

“No,” Ryan replied, saying she was “just a reporter.”

I am a journalist not a convener! But thank you for answering my questions. https://t.co/fe9cGXG46w

— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) February 16, 2017

Trump continued, saying “set up the meeting. Let’s go, set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the black caucus. I think it’s great. The Congressional Black Caucus.”

CBC spokeswoman Kamara Jones said the CBC sent the president a letter on January 19 inviting him to address the caucus, but has not yet received a response.  In a reply on Twitter, the CBC stated:

Hi, @realDonaldTrump. We’re the CBC. We sent you a letter on January 19, but you never wrote us back. Sad! Letter: https://t.co/58KiuHmITF

— The CBC (@OfficialCBC) February 16, 2017

In a follow-up interview on CNN, Ryan said she would be happy to report on a meeting between the president and the CBC. “But as far as facilitating that meeting or convening that meeting, that is not my place. Every White House has someone to deal with this kind of meeting or this kind of bringing together of people. It’s up to that person in this White House to do that.”

Ryan has been the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks since January 1997 and is also the author of best-selling My Up Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America.

Filed Under: Correspondents, Donald Trump, Event Coverage, News Media, The White House, Uncategorized

President Trump Ignores Mainstream Media at White House Press Conferences

February 16, 2017 By WHC Insider

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

At the three most recent press conferences held by President Donald Trump, he has exclusively called on conservative-leaning firms and sites for questions.

On February 10, during a joint conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump called on the New York Post and Fox Business News.  Three days later when taking questions alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump picked Sinclair-Broadcasting-owned WJLA and the Daily Caller to ask questions.  And on Wednesday when appearing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump chose the Christian Broadcasting News and Townhall.com.

Neither CBN nor Townhall.com asked President Trump about national security advisor Michael Flynn’s resignation or the slew of reports about contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence agents.

Just stunning that Pres. Trump walked into a news conference and wasn’t asked about the biggest story in the world today.

— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) February 14, 2017

So — the two reporters called on today: Christian Broadcasting Network and Town Hall. No question on Trump/Russia contacts.

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) February 15, 2017

Mainstream media journalists have been locked out from directly asking Trump any questions at all.  CNN’s Jim Acosta voiced a question about Russia, which the president ignored.

I tried

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 15, 2017

Reporters have been blasting the president and Spicer both for avoiding difficult questions by cherry-picking only favorable, conservative sites.

Typically, past presidents have traditionally called on the Associated Press for the first question in a press conference, followed by major news organizations.

Spicer himself has taken questions from some mainstream outlets such as USA TODAY, ABC News and Reuters, although he has called on right-leaning media such as Breitbart, the Daily Mail and the Washington Times, far more frequently.

If President Trump leaves this press conference without answering a question about Russia, it’s a blow to the free press.

— Matt Viser (@mviser) February 15, 2017

Trump has called on ONLY conservative outlets in his last 3 joint press conferences.

— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) February 15, 2017

Calling on only conservative press who refuse to press @realDonaldTrump about his Russia connections is not freedom of the press.

— Heidi Przybyla (@HeidiPrzybyla) February 15, 2017

Trump is afraid of the real media. Is creating Potemkin Press conferences. Real questions will not be tolerated. Betrayal of public trust

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) February 15, 2017

Christian Broadcasting Network given the first question at Trump’s press conference.

— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) February 15, 2017

So apparently Donald Trump won’t be taking *any* questions from media outlets that aren’t markedly conservative.

— Jarrett Hill (@JarrettHill) February 15, 2017

Trump ducking questions from big media outlets to avoid discussing Russia, calls on conservative outlets only so far

— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) February 15, 2017

Remarkable how the conservative media Qs to Trump are shaped to make no real news

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 15, 2017

Trump fields a pair of questions from conservative-leaning US outlets. Nothing yet on contact between his campaign and Russia

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) February 15, 2017

To be clear to viewers around the world, in the last 3 press conferences, Trump has ONLY called on conservative news outlets for questions

— Katty Kay (@KattyKayBBC) February 15, 2017

Trump again handpicks reporters–from Christian Broadcasting & a conservative website–so that no one asks him any tough questions on Russia

— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) February 15, 2017

Who will Trump call in today’s press conference? Bannon in a wig, and then Bannon in a different wig?

— Jonathan Bernstein (@jbview) February 15, 2017

Dear colleagues in the Israeli press corps: Please ask Donald Trump about Russian contacts if you’re called on at today’s press conference.

— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) February 15, 2017

Filed Under: Donald Trump, Event Coverage, Media Strategy, News, News Media, Press Secretaries, The White House, Uncategorized, Washington

White House Press Room Seating Chart

February 15, 2017 By WHC Insider

Filed Under: Correspondents, DC, Donald Trump, Media Strategy, News Media, Press Secretaries, Protocol, The White House, Washington Insider, Washington Trivia, White House Staff

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Prefers Conservative News Outlets

February 14, 2017 By WHC Insider

James Brady Press Briefing Room, 2007. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

An analysis by the New York Times suggests that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has preferred questions from journalists representing non-traditional and center-right news outlets over mainstream journalists in his daily press briefings.

Historically, administrations have prioritized questions from journalists sitting in the first two rows of the briefing room, normally assigned to reporters representing mainstream media such as NPR, Associated Press, Fox News and Reuters. Spicer has avoided this tradition and has focused his attention more on “non-mainstream” journalists elsewhere in the briefing room.

In his first Q&A session on the job, Spicer granted the first question to a New York Post journalist who had written a book critical of the Clintons. His second question came from the conservative website LifeZette, founded by radio personality Laura Ingraham (who was also considered by Trump for the press secretary position). None of his first five questions in his first briefing were asked from the front two rows of mainstream outlets.  He regularly gives priority during briefings to journalists from conservative-leaning titles such as Breitbart, Newsmax and One America News Network.

In comparison, former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ first five questions in the initial 2009 Obama administration press briefing went to journalists representing mainstream outlets from the first two rows in the seating chart: Associated Press, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News and CNN.

Speaking with Sean Hannity in January, Spicer defended his decision:

“There are voices and issues that the mainstream media sometimes don’t capture, and it’s important for those issues to get as much prominence as some of the mainstream ones.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association – not the administration — has doled out seating assignments in the Press Room since 1981. Additional reporters with no seat assignment stand in the aisles of the room or sit in empty seats.

Filed Under: Correspondents, Media Strategy, News Media, Press Secretaries, The White House, White House Staff

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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