The press’s proximity to the president has been crucial to the reporting of White House events since its authorization by Richard Nixon. In the confines of the West Wing, press agents are able to have direct access to White House officials and observe the executive branch from the inside. Without being physically adjacent to the executive office, it will be a lot more challenging for the media to have the contact they require to report on governmental actions.
According to an article from The New York Times, President-elect Donald Trump’s team has written a proposal to remove reporters from their offices in the West Wing, ceasing the ease of access. Trump’s press secretary defended this position, claiming that a separate office outside of the White House will be arranged to enable more reporters to have an avenue to those within the presidential sphere.
The U.S. Press Corps released an open letter on Tuesday to President-elect Trump to address this potential relocation. The Press Corps argued that this proposal is simply another move by the president-elect to squander the media’s efforts to report on his actions. This letter signals the next step by journalists in the Trump era to examine the fundamentals of journalism itself.
Though the industry of journalism is, by nature, extremely competitive, this statement proves that news outlets will band together to face Trump’s distrust and disdain for reporters in general. In order to actually get responses to the questions Trump has continuously deferred from answering, the press has vowed to constantly and persistently ask for information that is deemed to be crucial for the republic, so that the president’s office cannot dodge to an easier question. If the media is uniting to accomplish this, it can only mean more transparency throughout Trump’s administration. It is certainly an admirable concept to hope for.
Trump has created a pattern of avoiding and undercutting the media. He claimed that the “crooked media” is working against him, that he has been unfairly criticized and targeted during and after the election. Trump wants to control the message, and his team’s potential proposal to move the Press Corps outside of the West Wing is the first step in removing the media from his presidency. There is no way of knowing what the president-elect will do next to impede on the media’s efforts.
The press’ presence in the White House is essential to balance out actions of the government. Trump wants to allow more reporters to have access because he thinks the “mainstream media” has falsely portrayed him. But more reporters does not mean more information. The White House press secretary’s job is to release information that sheds good light on the presidency and the administration, which makes it more necessary for the press to bring balanced and fair reporting. The press’ access to the West Wing is the key to media’s watchdog role and should not be terminated.
News outlets have been under a lot of scrutiny since the election. While the media’s methods to cover Trump arguably gave him the victory, following the inauguration, it will be a time to reflect on how the media should report the Trump administration. If the public loses their faith in reporters, they will turn to Trump directly for information. This is not the result that we, as journalists, want to see.
A huge responsibility also falls onto the public — the readers, viewers and audiences. Whether there is press in or out of the White House, the public needs to understand that what they are hearing is not always true. They need to be responsible for forming their own opinions on the information that is being disseminated through different platforms and who is spreading it.
The Press Corps’ letter essentially outlines the basics of journalism and the definition of freedom of the press. Trump taking office has made journalists rethink their rights as disseminators of information. As history has progressed, the exact interpretation of journalism has evolved and, in a way, blurred. Certain news outlets have become biased or niched, making many rethink how they practice journalism. In the end, no matter whether Trump’s administration kicks the press out of the West Wing, the press will, as they have always been doing, continue doing their best at covering the presidency.
