Ron Fournier, National Journal, June 1, 2015, writes that it is possible for reporters to resist the deadly practice of government officials’ convening press conferences to spin the news and then declare the sessions “on background” thus hiding behind anonymity to evade accountability. Anonymous sources are often vital in reporting the news, but increasingly off-the-record briefings do not provide credible facts. Fournier suggests that to break the practice of “background briefings” that reporters report on the attempted deception itself, refuse to attend while informing the PR department of reasons for boycotting and inform them unless a reporter permits anonymity that they must put all briefings on the record.
Journalists have been complaining about the background briefings for several years saying that they occasionally glean some worthwhile information that was better than getting nothing. But generally the briefings are all spin with no substance. The briefings also favor certain media organizations and exclude others including Politico, the Los Angeles Times and the McClatchy newspapers. (The Washington Post, November 7, 2014, by Paul Farhi)
In the meantime, the press is battling the Clinton campaign for better access and may have an edge. “By trying to play by the same set of rules that govern the White House press corps (background briefings, tightly regulated pool coverage, and very limited questions to the principal), Team Clinton is playing into the exact narrative they’ve pledged to avoid – appearing to hold a coronation, not a contest,” write Chuck Todd and Carrie Dann for First Read, June 2, 1015.
Journalists met on this week to air grievances over access to the Clinton campaign. They discussed the campaign’s failure to give adequate notice to events, the failure to provide a cear standard about open or closed fundraisers and the prevailing tendency to avoid speaking on the public record. (Huffington Post, June 1, 2015, by Michael Calderone)