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Biden to Hold Press Conference Amid Coronavirus Confusion and a Stalled Agenda In Congress

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Photo Source: Politico

Ahead of his one year anniversary in office, President Biden plans to hold his first formal news conference in months. Biden has remained out of the public eye this week as he prepares for just the second solo White House press conference amid slipping poll performance, 40-year record inflation levels looming, and all-time high COVID-19 cases. 

The President is seeking to  highlight his administration’s progress amid the ongoing pandemic. In announcing the press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president “looks forward to speaking directly to the American people.” 

Averages of the most recent national polls compiled by both Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight put Biden’s approval at 42% and disapproval at 52%. 

Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. But the president’s numbers began to decline in August at the wake of Biden’s much-criticized handling of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan and a surge in COVID-19 cases this summer.

Biden’s approval ratings average has hovered in the low 40s and his disapproval ratings average in the low 50s since mid-October. 

But a Quinnipiac University national poll grabbed headlines last week when it measured the president’s approval at just 33%. A White House memo described the survey as an “outlier.”

However, it’s important that Biden makes this press conference. “There are times when you have to step up. This is one of them,” said David Axelrod, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama, in The Washington Post. “You have to try to shape the narrative of the last year, because you know the media and opposition will.”

New Leaders of the Press Pack! Pew Says Traditional Reporters Outnumbered, New Era in Capitol Hill Journalism

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A new study from Pew Research Center found that reporters from niche outlets and digital news publishers outnumber daily newspaper reporters, marking a shift in the makeup of the press corps from previous years. Pew reports that the number of journalists on the Hill that produce local coverage fell from around 200 in the mid-90s to just under 60 by 2015. As of 2014, 32% of reporters in the Senate Press Gallery were daily newspaper publications, in contrast to the 37% of reports from digital and niche publications.

The evolution in the makeup of the Washington press corps signifies a shift in the ways Americans consume news. So called “digital-native” outlets have increased from just 2 in 2009 to over 70 in 2014. According to Pew, “Reporters for broad-interest news websites have only emerged in the Washington press corps in recent years. These are outlets such as The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed that publish on a daily basis and aim for a general audience.”

In an effort to understand the implications for local communities, Pew studied coverage of the federal government in eight local newspapers from across the United States, four of which maintain DC reports on staff and four that don’t. Their findings reveal that 71% of stories from DC reporters contained quotes directly from a member of Congress, three times more than the rate at which reporters outside the Beltway did.

Pew also found that non-DC reporters are much more likely to tie stories from the Hill to the implications they might have for citizens, while DC-based reporters were more likely to address the the impact a particular story had on the politicians involved. The study claims that the dwindling number of DC-based reporters and the increasing reliance of wire-based services makes it more difficult for local publications to deliver clear and consistent coverage of politicians on the Hill.

The results of the poll can be found here: http://www.journalism.org/2015/12/03/todays-washington-press-corps-more-digital-specialized/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=6316aa58cd-Weekly_Dec_3_201512_3_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-6316aa58cd-399587233