President Donald Trump has effectively shut down White House press briefings while casting blame on the media for his move. He repeated his criticism of the press as rude purveyors of fake news. (Salon, January 22, 2019, by Shiro Tarlo)
The White House Correspondents’ Association said the failure to hold daily briefings was a “retreat from transparency and accountability [that] sets a terrible precedent. Being able to question the press secretary or other senior government officials publicly helps the news media tell Americans what their most powerful representatives are doing in their name.” The date of the last briefing was December 13. (Variety, January 22, 2019, by Ted Johnson)
While conducting fewer and fewer briefings, the Trump administration under White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has used them to promote Trump’s agenda rather than provide access to ongoing topics of interest to journalists and the public. (The New York Times, January 22, 2019, by Karen Yourish and Jasmine C. Lee)