As the White House continues to ban video and live recordings at various press briefings, a growing media coalition has called on President Trump to reinstate their presence at all briefings, with the National Press Photographers Association now joining the letter.
The NPPA recently joined PEN America, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press, Reporters Without Borders, and the Society of Professional Journalists in calling on the president to end the ban as well as the decreased frequency of televised briefings, citing a growing lack of transparency and an inability to enable the access of information by regular citizens. Gabe Rottman, PEN America's Washington director, notes:
The whole point of the White House press briefing is to give the public a window into the White House... We fear that closing the press briefings to video and audio is just another darkening of that window into our government.
The letter goes on to elaborate on the importance of having cameras and live broadcasts in maintaining both accountability and the ability to ensure answers are more candid than purpose-written responses:
The role of the press in asking questions and probing issues on behalf of the public is invaluable; there is no substitute for the give-and-take of a press conference in allowing the questions most on the minds of the American people to be asked and answered in real time, without the forethought and crafting that goes into scripted written messages.
The letter was sent June 29, but has not received a response yet.
I think its a must have, We will be all going to war shortly thanks to Trump and his failure to understand the Chinese, when he should be looking at his own US companies making their shit there, It all trade for them
and the US dig its own grave.
There is nothing stopping the press from asking questions and getting answers. The only difference is the ability of these obnoxious narcissists to preen for the cameras.
Nothing like a good smart phone to capture , hiding out
:-)
Thank you for showing us how clueless you are. We now better understand how you voted.
I'd like to share some advice with you that was given to me many years ago, by my country music mentor, who taught me 80% of what I know about country music and a lot more about life, in general. He said this to me when he could see that I'd gotten in over my head in a particular conversation: "Son, the first thing you've got to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
I think the intention of the meme Spy Black posted is to compare POTUS 45 to all the totalitarian dictators and regimes who discredited the press over the course of the last 80 years or so. Undermine the integrity of the press in the eyes of the people, and then you can successfully serve up any propaganda you like because you have created, among the population, distrust of and uneasiness about established news sources and have sabotaged their credibility, whether or not their credibility was ever questionable in the first place.
Do you really think that Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin, Sadam Hussein, Bashar al Assad, and ISIS were, or are, all leftists? You're wrong, my fellow American, but your comments are always very enlightening! I return here again and again just to read one or two others', as well as your risible assumptions. They help me maintain a strong sense of perspective. As Buddhism teaches, you can't have a top without there also being a bottom. I thank you.
The top? Sure, if you're happy there. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't agree with a great deal of what I have read in many of your posts, and some of your generalizations seem a bit beyond the pale, as well as reflex rhetoric. I was raised in the humanist bubble that is New York City (don't hate me for that), and my forebears were victims of fascist oppression in Europe, so I have a different world experience and point of view.
However, I believe in your right to express your ideas, whether I agree with them or not, but when you write things like, "Yeah I know right, the left, they are all leftist, save for President Trump!" in reference to known right-wing fascist dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin, Sadam Hussein, Bashar al Assad, or radical fundamentalist religious groups such as ISIS (trust me, they're not leftists), I find myself wishing you'd do a little more homework before you post.
My country music mentor, whom I mentioned above, is a farm-raised, staunch Ohio Republican and upstanding member of the NRA. I am none of those things, in fact, quite the opposite. We disagree on many political and social issues, but we have never let that interfere with our friendship or allowed it to disintegrate our respect for each other. What is so discouraging about this moment in history is the disturbing amount of animosity between people who have differing points of view, and the trash-talking and finger-pointing that is flying around the Web and in social media, in general. People seem to have forgotten that you can have a dialog without it getting personal and vicious. Dialog implies two points of view.
That is why it's important to grant the press (from both sides of center), with still and video equipment, access to briefings and announcements originating from the White House. You can absorb the information, consider the sources, and then reach your own conclusions about what's going on, instead of contentedly swallowing only one side of the story. But barring the press, and obscuring transparency of government and current happenings, is just paving the road to hell for any country. It is easy to control a populace that doesn't know what's really going on. Having a free press that disseminates information--and not just opinion--is essential for a nation to stay politically balanced and healthy, keeping ALL of us informed.
All of us, you know, everybody. One nation, indivisible. So I say, let the press in.
It's a lot of writing. I wanted to make a point without making it personal. Are you poking fun at my post?
I am intimately familiar with B&H Photo. My father was a photojournalist and I had my own side business shooting events and portraiture for 22 years. It's a great store, and the place to go when you need salespeople from the industry who know what they are talking about.
You forgot Barack Obama in the cute little meme, you know, the one that always made fun of Fox news. Seems like the left had no problem with poking the news people when it was them doing the poking.
I don't remember Fox being barred from covering the White House.
when will the news organizations start to report facts and not fake news ? they all do this, not just CNN, but they seem to be the worst one.
Apparently you forgot the grandfather of fake news, and CNN has nothing on them.
I for one can understand where this might be coming from. There is little that can be photographed at a daily press briefing, as it is the same people doing the same thing every day. What is there to photograph that hasn't been shot already? The second point is all of the shutters going off make a racket that the microphones pick up making it an annoyance. When is the press corp going to be made to switch over to mirrorless cameras? The mirrorless cameras are getting closer to shooting images of a quality that compete with Canon and Nikon.
Shutters are quiet these days...access to information is apolitical. And restrictions on cameras represent restrictions on my access to full information. I can make a better judgement as to what's going on when I have visuals as part of the package
A few lame comments here such as there is nothing to photograph so banning visual coverage is ok, and working journalists are preening narcissists. In my experience very routine events and subjects require greater creativity and instincts. And as far as attacking the so-called liberal press the current administration has opened the briefings to a greater number of conservative outlets and several with dubious news afiliations.
More than ever before the Press briefings themselves make news when lies are told or repeated. Remember when Mr Spicer lied about the innauguration crowd size and became a bit unhinged.
Fstoppers is not a site for photojournalism or documentary photography so some of the comments don't surprise me very much. I'm a big fan of this site but would welcome more subjects related to photojournalism even if it means fewer heavily retouched pictures of women in underwear.
I sure hate to see politics sour this site but this story is important to many people. I just wish people would separate the conservative platform from the actions of the President and his administration. To me at least his actions are indefensible, egotistical, infantile, and counterproductive. They do not represent the majority thinking of his own party and his lack of leadership is hindering the progress of conservative legislation.
Politicians must be prepared to face criticism and be above petty retaliations. No matter what your party affiliation we all deserve a President that upholds the dignity of the office.
Someone please bring me the step ladder so I can get off my high horse.
Butch
This has happened before, and it will happen again. If I recall correctly, the last time cameras were disallowed at press briefings it was President Clinton. I do understand why the NPPA would get in on the letter writing action, though. It is their member's jobs being affected by this camera ban. It isn't a political us vs them issue, though. Just because it hasn't been done in about 20 years doesn't mean that it is wrong. It is inconvenient for the press. They can still ask questions. They can still listen to and report the answers. Nothing to see here (pun intended); move along.
I respectfully disagree. I think a visual/audio recording of a press briefing or any other event can carry more weight in the aftermath than a reporter's notes.