Screengrab: PBS News
Headline: Columbia Journalism Review, 3/19/2025
These are unusual times on the White House beat, and not just because there’s a fire hose of news to cover. Reporting itself has become news, given the aggressive efforts by the Trump administration to undermine and manipulate mainstream reporters who cover the White House. The list includes [1] blocking the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One; [2] seizing control of the press pool from its traditional steward, the nonpartisan White House Correspondents’ Association; [3] having the FCC investigate news organizations; [4] and gutting Voice of America and other federally funded international broadcasters. [numbering added]
While the WHCA has issued generic protest statements, it’s hard to know how individual reporters feel. Outside of a handful of veteran correspondents, few will comment or express criticism with their names attached. When approached, White House reporters tend to respond with a brusque “no comment” or pleas to withhold their names, if they respond at all. The reluctance to speak extends even to those who are supposed to speak on behalf of the press corps; WHCA president Eugene Daniels did not respond to a request for comment for this article. The White House beat may be the most prestigious in journalism, but in my experience, it’s also the one with the most terrified reporters. [emphasis added]
Other WHPC posts2025
January 2025
