New Media Isn't New... Or Is It?
While much has been written about how the White House and Congress have been dealing with the emergence of "new media," take note -- new media is not new. According to a 1982 paper on the history of the presidential press conference, it was President Harry Truman whose administration "saw increased use of radio and the growth of television technology." Former President Dwight Eisenhower then took a big step when he allowed television cameras to record White House press conferences for delayed broadcasts.
"Those newspaper correspondents who had been long used to the old way saw TV and radio news men as 'interlopers on their turf,' and complained about the written media's diminished advantage," states the report. The paper, published by the White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs, noted that the embrace of media technology diminished the importance of reporters at the White House. Former President John F. Kennedy made the landmark decision to broadcast his press conferences live on television, which some reporters complained encouraged "aggressive and superficial reporting."
In the 21st century with Congress and the White House facing decisions about how briefings should evolve in a world filled with bloggers and online news reporters, what forms of online media reporting should be given access to the Capitol and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? How should this change how briefings are set up? President Barack Obama dipped his toe in the debate when he called on Huffington Post writer Sam Stein during his first press conference but it remains to be seen what's next for the briefing room in this administration. -- Winter Casey
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