1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren vogelbam here. In January, best selling novelists Stephen 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: King and Don Winslow took to Twitter to make a 4 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: surprising pledge. They offered to donate two hundred thousand dollars 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: to charity if Stephanie Grisham, the Press secretary for President 6 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 1: Donald Trump, agreed to take questions from the full White 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: House Press Corps for one hour in the White House's 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: press briefing room. The offer reportedly was rejected by Grisham, who, 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: since taking the job in June of nine, has yet 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: to hold even one formal White House press briefing. Her views, 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: expressed in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, is 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: that the briefings are unnecessary because reporters get opportunities to 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: put questions to Trump himself, sometimes over the roar of 14 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: the presidential helicopter on the White House lawn. For the 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: time being, at least, the Trump administration has abandoned what 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: had been an important part of White House Press Corps 17 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: routine dating back to the late eighteen hundreds, before the 18 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: official position of White House Press secretary even existed. That's 19 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: when President William McKinley set up a workspace in the 20 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: White House for reporters and sent his first personal secretary, 21 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: John Addison Porter, to give the correspondence what the White 22 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: House Historical Association notes were more or less regular briefings. 23 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: The White House press briefing gradually evolved into a formal event. 24 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: From the time of President Herbert Hoover in the late 25 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties and early thirties to Lyndon Johnson's tenure in 26 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: the mid to late sixties, white House press secretaries held 27 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: twice a day briefing sessions in their own offices. According 28 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: to Martha joint Kumar's book Managing the President's Message, the 29 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: White House Communications Operation, Richard Nixon, though no fan of 30 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: the press, still thought the briefings were important enough that 31 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: he had a swimming pool torn out so that he 32 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: could convert the space into a meeting room for briefings. 33 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: That area is now known as the James Brady Press 34 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: Briefing Room, in honor of President Ronald Reagan's press secretary, 35 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: who was seriously wounded during the attempt on Reagan's life. 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: During Bill Clinton's time in the White House in the 37 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties, Press Secretary Mike McCurry decided to allow the 38 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: daily press briefings to be televised. That practice continued until 39 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: the Trump White House began barring cameras from briefings in 40 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, before discontinuing them altogether. We spoke via email 41 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: with FORMERCY and N White House correspondent Dan Lothian, who 42 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: spent five years covering the Bush and Obama administrations. He said, 43 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: I think the briefings were useful for a number of reasons. 44 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: First of all, it was an opportunity to get the 45 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: White House response or thinking on an issue on camera 46 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: rather than a written statement. It allowed us to gang 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: up on them around a question they might have been 48 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: trying to avoid, showing them dodge and answer is sometimes. 49 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: The news briefings also put statements on the record for 50 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: later comparison. Finally, every now and then there would be 51 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: breaking news, and as happened after a Summa bin Lauden 52 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: was caught lots of great details, even if some turned 53 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: out not to be true. Lothian, who went on to 54 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: found Little Park Media and to become a visiting caller 55 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: at the School of Journalism at Northeastern University, recalls that 56 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: the format for the briefings was fairly constant. He said 57 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: there was a certain order to who got called on. 58 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: Briefings always started with the associated press and ended with 59 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: a thank you from the Associated Press. Once in a 60 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: while the Press secretary wouldn't mix it up a bit, 61 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: but it usually happened around the same time each day, 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: and questions from the first two rows came in order. 63 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: We also spoke by email with Tom Jones, a senior 64 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: media writer for the Pointer Institute, a journalism education organization. 65 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: He said, while it's true that the president and his 66 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: representatives often make themselves available in informal settings such as 67 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: the White House lawn, it's not the same as press briefings. 68 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: The format of shouting out questions under the sound of 69 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: a whirling helicopter is not conducive to asking complicated policy 70 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: questions nor pertinent follow up questions. The frenzied free for 71 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: all of these. Much too brief informal interviews make it 72 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: much harder to get into the topics that require nuance 73 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: and specifics. It's so much easy for the president to 74 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: brush aside or ignore questions he doesn't like when he's 75 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: walking along the White House grounds, when he or one 76 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: of his representatives are standing behind a podium in a 77 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: controlled setting, they must face the questions that require long, 78 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: substantive answers, as opposed to the one or two short 79 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: sentences that suffice in those informal settings. That view, essentially 80 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: is shared by a group of thirteen former White House 81 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: press secretaries and foreign service and military officials who published 82 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: an opinion piece on CNN's website in January calling for 83 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: Trump to restore the regular briefings. In their view, having 84 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: to prepare for briefings helps the government to run better, 85 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: they wrote. The sharing of information known as official guidance, 86 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: among government officials and agencies helps ensure that an administration 87 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: speaks with one voice, telling one story, however compelling it 88 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: might be. Lothian also sees the apparent end of the 89 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: briefings as unfortunate. He said, it's a valid criticism that 90 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: some reporters use briefings to show boat. However, I think 91 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: when covering the White House, briefings are an important function 92 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: that allow the public and reporters to maintain daily connections. 93 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's routine information, other times an odd question from 94 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: the back of the room can turn into the story 95 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: of the day. Even so, Lothian says journalists who cover 96 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: the administration will find a way to get stories. He 97 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: said this new normal might be unfortunate, but not paralyzing. 98 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: Reporters are in the business of getting information, whether it 99 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: comes from the mouth of a spokesperson or from sources 100 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: all across the Beltway. Today's episode was written by Patrick J. 101 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: Tiger and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production 102 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on 103 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: this and lots of other informational topics, visit our home planet, 104 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com, and for more podcasts for 105 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 106 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.