“All the news we see fit to print”
WashPost, NY Times, and CNBC (among others) Skip Trump Briefings “Because not Newsworthy”
We’re All in This Together…Well, Maybe Not ALL of Us
(These “news” organizations would be the first to complain and criticize Trump for not providing enough information about the government’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.)
“There have been a lot more empty seats at President Donald Trump’s daily news briefings – but no, news organizations aren’t boycotting the events in protest or attempting to silence him, despite what he suggested at a briefing this week.” (Of course not! Anybody think the Post and Times and NBC would not make every effort to cooperate with and support Trump?)
According to the Washington Post:
“Instead, something else is afoot: Reporters are keeping their distance because they are concerned about the health risks at a time when many consider the president’s evening news conferences to have become increasingly less newsworthy.
“The decision by such outlets as The Washington Post, The New York Times and CNBC to stay away may be fundamentally changing the character of the briefings. With veteran White House reporters on the sidelines, the president has primarily engaged with TV journalists, including one from a small, far-right conservative news channel that rarely gets such a prominent stage.
“The Post, The Times and CNBC stopped sending reporters to the briefings – which have taken place in the Rose Garden as well as the more cramped confines of the West Wing’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room – after two White House correspondents were suspected of having contracted covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. (One of the reporters, who hasn’t been publicly identified, tested negative on Tuesday, according to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, the president of the White House Correspondents Association).
“Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet said his organization has withdrawn its reporters from the briefings, both because of health considerations and the uncertain newsworthiness.
Reporters continue to monitor them on TV and report anything worthwhile. (There you go. Their “reporters” will determine what’s “newsworthy”; they’ll even ‘interpret ‘ what is reported in the briefings.)
“Nowadays, it seems they make little news,” he said. “We, of course, reserve the right to show them live [via streaming] if we believe they will actually make news. But that hasn’t happened in quite some time.”
dlh
