White House reporters have reportedly expressed concerns that the press team is choosing the questions they want to hear during briefings in advance.
As the Daily Beast reported, the White House Correspondents Association held an informal meeting during which they discussed alleged efforts of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and her team to know about the questions reporters are going to ask during briefings in advance.
According to the publication, multiple correspondents raised concerns about the allegations and urged the reporters to ignore the press team’s calls for submitting their questions in advance.
“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 – That’s not really a free press at all,” one White House reporter allegedly said.point 408 | 1
Another insider claimed: “It pissed off enough reporters for people to flag it for the [WHCA] for them to deal with it.”
Following the backlash over the White House press team’s alleged attempts to get their hands on reporters’ questions ahead of briefings, a spokesperson responded by insisting their goal is “to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for both reporters and the public.”
“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,” the White House spokesperson said in a statement shared by DailyMail.com.
According to the reports, the press team did not deny allegations implying that they are soliciting questions from WH correspondents ahead of briefings.
“That two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people updated about how government is serving them,” the spokesperson added.
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Replaced!