White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday (28) at her first news conference, that influencers of social networks, podcasters, independent journalists and other representatives of “new media” will have a space at Press Room.
Leavitt referred to the “traditional press” as the great newspapers and television networks in the United States, which occupy the 49 seats in the White House press room, and explained that, due to the large audience of the new media, they will also have a place in the room.
“We will open this press room for the voices of the new media that produce news content and whose channels are not represented in these seats. We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, influencers and content creators and encourage them to request credentials to cover this White House, ”he said.
According to the spokesman, these new media will occupy the side row of the room, traditionally used by professionals from the press office and other government officials. This space will be called the “new media seat”.
With the change, the reorganization of the collective room will not deprive the leading US communication vehicles of seats, but new spaces will be granted to professionals from the new media.
The White House press room has 49 seats, all allocated to a specific communication vehicle. Having a seat makes it easy to ask the spokesman, although any journalist with credentials issued by the White House press office can participate in standing collective interviews.
The first row is reserved for the Associated Press agency and for the correspondents of major American television networks: NBC, Fox, CBS, ABC and CNN. The second row is occupied by major newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among others.
Traditionally, the first question at the press conference is asked by the Associated Press.
However, Leavitt said that, reflecting the new times, the first question at the first conference of Donald Trump’s second term would be from the right -wing portal journalists and those of the Axios portal.
The spokesman also announced that the White House will restore the press credentials of the 440 journalists whose passes were revoked during the Joe Biden government.
The White House press room was named James S. Brady in honor of the then spokesman who was seriously injured in the attempt to murder of then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981.