If you’re a journalist with a tough question for the White House press secretary, Joe Biden’s staff wouldn’t mind knowing that in advance.
According to three sources familiar with the matter, as well as written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast, the new president’s communications staff has already occasionally surveyed reporters to see what questions they plan to ask the new White House press secretary. Jen Psaki, when they are called during briefings.
The requests sparked concerns among White House press bodies, members of which, like many journalists, are sensitive to the perception that they are coordinating with political communications staff.
A reporter raised the issue during an informal call from the White House Correspondents Association last Friday. According to various sources, the meeting leaders advised print journalists to withdraw from requests from the White House press team to know the questions in advance or simply not to answer questions from the Biden team. .
“While it’s a relief to see news sessions return, especially with the commitment to factual information, the press can’t do its job in the newsroom if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want.” , said a White House correspondent. . “It’s not really a free press.”
“It bothered journalists enough that people could mark it on [WHCA] for them to deal with it, ”said another knowledgeable source.
The WHCA Zoom call was left off the record and members of the Daily Beast participated in the talk. Those employees had no input into this story. The journalist who wrote this story was not bound by the terms of the call agreement. All information in this article was collected independently and without the knowledge of his colleagues.
Since Biden took office two weeks ago, the White House press team has visibly tried to contrast with Trump’s press team, which had a notoriously antagonistic relationship with journalists, and eventually dismissed completely the traditional daily briefing.
During his first press conference, Psaki promised to re-establish regular briefings, including those of senior health officials, adding that he had “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press” and that they shared ” a common goal, which is to share accurate information with the American people. “
The Biden press team did not deny that employees had asked questions to reporters. But the White House said it has tried to foster a better relationship with the press body than the previous administration and has tried to contact journalists directly to avoid appearing to dodge questions during briefings.
“Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for both journalists and the public,” a White House spokesman said. “Part of meeting that goal is to work regularly with reporters who will be in the newsroom to understand how the White House can be more helpful in getting them the information they need. This two-way conversation is an important part of maintaining the American people up to date on how the government is serving them. “
This practice is not entirely unheard of in previous administrations, departments, or federal agencies. For example, it was known that former Donald Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had made some news about her questions before some press conferences or major Trump events or events, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. . Communications officials during the Bush and Obama years would ask journalists the bulk of the questions in advance if they wanted to interview cabinet secretaries.
Under previous administrations, many White House journalists met informally in the morning to have laughs with press secretaries. During these interactions, White House communications staff could learn about topics that journalists were interested in that day and would come prepared for questions during televised briefings later in the afternoon.
Eric Schultz, former press secretary at the Obama White House, said the new communications team was restoring normalcy to the information process. Finding out what journalists are focusing on, he said, was a standard procedure in most pre-Trump white houses in order to reduce the number of unanswered questions during televised briefings.
“This is a textbook communication job. The briefing doesn’t make sense if the press secretary has to ask questions repeatedly, instead of coming equipped to discuss what reporters report, “he said. bottom and top press. One of the few advantages that journalists have over your desk all day is that you have a very quick idea of what they are working on. “
Despite concerns that some journalists had about backstage consultations on Biden’s team, Psaki’s tenure so far has received positive reviews from many media outlets. The Washington Post told readers to prepare for “reality-based” press meetings, which Forbes has already described as “compulsory television.” The New York Times he noted that he had extended an “olive branch” to reporters during his first briefing, which Vox described as a “breath of fresh air.”
–With additional reports from Asawin Suebsaeng.