White House Hand-Picks Select Media For Briefing
By Jordan Fabian ~ Feb 24, 2017 ~ The Hill
The White House blocked a number of news outlets from covering spokesman Sean Spicer’s question-and-answer session on Friday afternoon.
Spicer decided to hold an off-camera “gaggle” with reporters inside his West Wing office instead of the traditional on-camera briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Among the outlets not permitted to cover the gaggle were news organizations that President Trump has singled out for criticism, including CNN.
The New York Times, The Hill, Politico, BuzzFeed, The Daily Mail, BBC, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Daily News were among the other news organizations NOT Permitted to attend.
Several right-leaning outlets were allowed into Spicer’s office, including Breitbart, the Washington Times and One America News Network.
A number of major news organizations were also let in to cover the gaggle. That group included ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Reuters and Bloomberg.
The White House Correspondents’ Association sharply criticized the decision.
“The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House,” Jeff Mason, the association’s president, said in a statement.
“We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not,” he added. “The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.”
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/321049-white-house-hand-picks-select-media-for-briefing