As mention earlier today I went to the Newseum and was able too observe an interview with Michael Fletcher of the Washington Post who is a member of the White House Press Corps. Fletcher appeared very comfortable being interviewee instead of the interviewer, and answered all questions clearly and at length. The majority of questions asked of Fletcher focused on three topics: 1.The press corps relationship with the president 2.the presses access to information in the Obama administration as compared to the Bush administration and 3.how the internet is affecting the reporting of the news.
On the presses relationship with President Obama Fletcher discussed how Obama is rather guarded and refrains from letting the press see him out of what I'll call character. Fletcher did mention that on Obama's first day he attempted to be informal with press corps as in the days of JFK and LBJ, but this fell through quickly. This informal attempt failed because in today's media reporters are competitive; the boys club where problems can be discussed off the record no longer exists.
On the differences between Bush and Obama, Fletcher stated that he believes the Obama White House is more open. For example, Fletcher discussed how the Obama administration wants to know where a story is headed before allowing information to be placed on the record whereas the Bushies would accept or deny the propsal entirely without regards to the endgame; furthermore, under Obama the press is able to interview policy makers, but everything must go through the press office before being released. Interestingly though, Fletcher did mention that Bush would invite members of the press corps into the living area of the White House and talk with them at length; however, as these session where off the record it was difficult to create a report from the information.
On the crisis facing the newspaper industry, Fletcher discussed how the industry needs to create a new business model in order to remain profitable. At some point user will be charged for viewing NYT or WashPost websites it is just a matter of how. When asked, Fetcher commented that it is more important now to be the fastest with the news rather than being the most thorough or well written story. This is unfortunate as facts can be reported wrong. The best example is the Sago Mine tragedy where reports first surfaced that all the miners trapped were alive yet it turned out only one survived. The needed to be first led to false reporting, and unimaginable pain for the families of the miners.
On a final note Fletcher mentioned that being on the White House press corps was a rewarding yet demanding job, and quoted a former member of the corps who said that it is, "the best job to have had." I am sure its a great resume builder.
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