View from the back: Sidelined White House reporters call out peer for ending press briefing as press room tensions unravel

Staff Report

BACKGROUND: On March 8, 2022 a group of White House reporters had enough of their questions being ignored in press briefings. Their frustration came to a tipping point when a front row colleague signaled to the press secretary to call the session to an end. Unfamiliar with this longstanding tradition, more than half of the reporters. who did not get to ask their questions -- disapproved, wanting an explanation as to why a peer was given the time-keeping task. As their voices united to demand a more fair and equitable approach, Mona Austin a White House Correspondent for The Slice News, asked if the issue of guided press engagement was a concern for the White House Correspondent Association. President of the White House Correspondent's Association Steve Portnoy then intervened.

For months correspondents in the back rows of the briefing room complained among themselves and sometimes to Press Secretary Jen Psaki as she was leaving the room that more questions should come from the back rows. The Press Secretary ocassionally calls on people who did not have their hands raised left those eager to get noticed flustered. Psaki has adopted a classroom styled approach to keep control and order, unlike many of her predecessors who allowed shouted questions. It is a style that Pres. Joe Biden, her boss, has also adapted to in press conferences. He calls pre-determined names from a list. This approach seems overtly controlling and contrived, but the White House says it is done this way to restore civility to press meetings that dissipated during the Administration of President Donald Trump.

There have also been previous grievances to the press office about Christians and conservatives not getting a fair shot at asking questions openly on the record. Several faith-based outlets have sought to be recognized for questions that directly matter to their audiences and have been shunned or shut down. Some believe this avoidance is discrimination against the media This on-going issue is well known, but slow to resolve.

The Slice News captured the tense exchange after the briefing.

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The Slice News Staff

Tension in the White House press briefing room came to a head when reporters rejected a peer calling an end to the briefing with Press Secretary Jen Psaki, setting the stage for a long overdue confrontation. The clash exposed the on-going neglect of the vast majority of the White House press corp.

Reporters were united in begrudging the end of the event when senior AP reporter, Josh Boak, notified Psaki to conclude around 43 minutes into the briefing. 

Although it is a tradition for the wire reporter from the senior wire agency  to track the time of briefings, some members of the press were not aware of the practice, considering it an unacceptable, outdated approach.

A reporter shouted his concern at Boak, "You know, you don't have to call the briefing over." Then  someone else asked, "Who called it?" he returned, 

"They've appointed themselves in charge of calling it. We have questions back here," referring to the fourth row where he was seated and beyond.

On the briefing room stage, reporters seated past the third row appear to be extras to media stars "performing" in the front row seats.

Various concerned journalists in the room began to raise their voices in a crescendo of disgruntlement.

Boak tried to explain he was following an established practice. Again, most others in the room were not familiar with the said protocol.

"Why, why did you do it?," asked Ellen Sweet, DC Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun Times. 

There was no answer. 

The fourth row reporter chimed in again: "Then give us an explanation."

A voice cried out from the far end of the room as reporters who were on their way to their stations paused to listen to the unfolding drama.

"Is this an issue for the White House Correspondent's Association?, " interjected Mona Austin of the Slice News, inviting CBS News reporter Steve Portnoy and President of the White House Correspondents Association to rise up in response. 

"It is the tradition in our press corp for the senior wire reporter to conduct the briefing and end it when we feel we've had enough. Gesturing to the group he said,  "Clearly we have felt we have not had enough." 

Some of those frustrated reporters have gotten questions answered during briefings  in the past but still feel marginalized  due to the relative infrequency of engagement.

For Austin, a news maker who covers for both mainstream and Christian outlets, being called on is rare, despite having addressed the concern with the White House press team multiple times over the last year.  Having a primarily Black audience has made it tougher to get recognized as long-standing Black is given preference. She suggested that asking questions that uniquely appeal to targeted audeiences might be beneficial to the whole press corp and more reflective of the American public whose interests all reporters (with the exception of foreign press) are there to serve. 

This imbalance in who gets to ask a questions also affects members of the foreign press who cover briefings. 

Simon Ateba, the creator  an African  news site with reporting on Washington and the White house, has been a persistent, loud and unruly  agitator in attempts  to get called on for questions,  He  said he does not want to shout questions and knows it makes people upset, but, "It can be really hard when you have 5 rows and people have 6-7 questions. It can be really hard."  He expressed that it is  frustrating to attend a  briefing regularly and invest funds to be there for months and not get a single question.  This is a challenge that many media outlets face with some reporters in the room never once being recognized.  Back-of-the-room reporters vying for attention have politely asked the press secretary to call on others in the back but at times have tossed out unsolicited questions but to no avail.  The Slice News has repeatedly been overlooked, having only been called on a few times in one year.

This workplace dissention only set the stage to touch on a much deeper issue that  Austin raised: "Specialty media needs an opportunity. I've been here on my third president, and people don't even know my name," she asserted. Austin is the creator of  The Slice News and  works independently for several other entities. Her reporting reaches a vast national  audience of primarily African Americans and Christians via radio and the internet.  

Austin said she has been shouted over and ignored regularly and outright bullied by colleagues who lack a basic level of professional acumen.  She has managed to get only a smidgen of questions answered at briefings in the past year since covering the Biden Administration. The job was more challenging under the Trump Administration, she admits; she  never got a question answered in briefings by the former press secretary or president. 

Boak was on his way back to the AP booth when he stopped to say to the room that he was following and established practice but would change it if he could.

"Here is what I can tell you is standard.  If it was up me me it could have gone on all day.  I'm also  respectful of other people's schedules."

The fact that journalistist do not understand or know how the room operates is in and of itself a management problem. 

Austin alluded to the culture in the White House press room that gives preference to the people in the room with the most perceived power. The tension between specialty media and the mainstream press has precipitated under multiple administrations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distiancng was in effect, The Assocaiton operated on a rotation out of necessity. None of the   It is a work culture that lacks equality, yet one that projects it is refelecting the tolerance and acceptance that is taking plac in companies acors the country as the result of divesity and inclusion bein embraced.  standards amongst the press is needed more than ever in the current political climate. 

The ability to engage outside of the briefing room has also been limitied by the White House Corrspondents Association.  Only a select few news organizations are allowed to attend press conferences to record the president's remarks and potentially ask questions.  The decisions are made with respect to who joins to organization and with respect to organizations that can offird the hefty fees that are paid to join the press pool and travel with the president. 

Just days earlier, a WHCA board member and  reporter from the Dallas Morning News on the WHCA told Austin she was "not there yet" and needed to "get to know more people" when se inquired about participation in the radio pool  This would be an unusual suggestion under most circumstances but sheds light on the fact that peers can determine.  At the White House, being included is based on funds, popularity and likeability rather than qaulifications or reach.  

 

This is a multi-prong issue that bears accountability from  the White House Press Office, The White House Correspondents Association and the journalists who have the privivlege of covering the White House. Objective factors of measuring fairness must come into play. Journalists themselves engage in stifling each other directly and indirectly.  Aggressively interrupting others questions or prolonging the time they have with a spokesperson lessens the amount of time others might have to ask questions, yet this conduct is normal.

"Maybe it's time to end your tradition," offered Sweet.

NOTE: Leadership in the WHCA has made noticeable efforts to be fair to White House Press Corp by establishing new seating and sending reminders about etiquette during briefings. The issue of selectively choosing reporters to ask questions in ongoing.