White House Pressroom Gets a Makeover Video Wall, Other Technology Could Inject Drama and Directly Appeal To Public in Briefings
By JOHN D. MCKINNON Wall Street Journal August 1, 2006; Page A4 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115438835036522799.html?mod=hps_us_editors_picks WASHINGTON -- For a decade, the daily White House news briefing has been televised. Now it is becoming television. Earlier this year, Fox News talk show host Tony Snow was hired as press secretary. Next up: a renovation of the briefing room, likely with a video wall that could display everything from "flags waving in the breeze [to] detailed charts and graphs," according to a senior White House official working on the project. For TV viewers, the video feed could be the sole on-screen image, or could share the space with the speaker. White House officials say they are weighing how -- and how often -- to use the video capability. But the new technology could help transform White House briefings -- midday exchanges with reporters in a utilitarian setting -- into more interesting viewing. Both the planned video capabilities and Mr. Snow's hiring appear to be part of a subtle but sweeping effort by administration officials to deliver their message directly to the public, particularly through video. "It's simply a necessary response to a news environment where you have players in all quarters 24 hours a day," Mr. Snow says. "If you're in government ... your key challenge [is] to make sure you get your message out." Even before the technical upgrade, the weekday White House briefing has gotten livelier and drawn more attention with Mr. Snow. For example, it's being excerpted more often on news shows, according to media observers. C-SPAN often carries the briefing, which usually runs between 30 minutes and an hour, in its entirety, though not always live. It's also available on various Web sites. The number of people watching on an ordinary day probably still measures in the thousands, according to former press secretaries. The Bush administration has taken the practice of managing its official message to new levels -- for example, by providing packaged video stories to local TV news shows, as well as paying conservative columnists for positive coverage -- a practice the president since has criticized. On the campaign trail and in many public events, President Bush has used backdrops with vivid images or repeated slogans to reinforce the words of his speeches. Some media observers say the moves to upgrade the White House briefing reflect a focus on minimizing or circumventing criticism of the Bush administration in the place where it has been most concentrated -- the dingy and often unruly press briefing room. Earlier this year, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten said it might be a good idea to stop televising the briefing, a practice that began in the mid-1990s to feed the appetites of 24-hour news outlets. Mike McCurry, press secretary for President Bill Clinton who first allowed it, now regrets the decision, saying it became "a soap opera." But it would be near-impossible for any administration to turn back the clock now, he says. The video capability the White House is considering for the press room is similar to that used at the Defense Department, recent political conventions and on TV news shows. Officials are struggling with costs and how to juggle the small space around the platform and podium at the front of the room. Work begins at the end of the week and likely will last until the spring. In the meantime, briefings and the White House press corps will move into temporary facilities across Pennsylvania Avenue. Media experts say graphics and charts could reinforce the White House's message at briefings. A video wall also could diminish the role of reporters as questioners. For example, remote briefers might sometimes appear on home TV screens to talk past the reporters in the room, and address the public directly. That already happens with some video feeds, such as when a colonel in Ramadi, Iraq, led off a recent Pentagon briefing by saying, "I'm always happy for the opportunity to tell Americans what a great job their sons and daughters are doing for all Americans over here." Pentagon news briefings also frequently find their way onto cable TV. "Putting a video wall in the White House allows any administration to shape almost any story much more directly," said Ralph Begleiter, a former CNN foreign-affairs reporter who now is a professor of communications at the University of Delaware. It's "an extension of the idea that the government wants to speak directly to the public with a voice that's very carefully crafted, without room for the analysis or critiques or amalgamations of fact that reporters routinely bring." [New Look] Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary during Mr. Bush's first term, said he toyed with the idea of using video graphics in the briefing room. Mr. Fleischer concluded the White House at the time lacked the technical capabilities. Since Mr. Snow became press secretary, the briefing has become more visible as TV shows run excerpts, according to media watchers. The briefings also are spreading through clips and streaming video on the Web, but official viewership figures aren't available. Conservatives despaired at the rough treatment that reporters sometimes gave to Mr. Snow's predecessor, Scott McClellan, during the briefing. These days, though, Mr. Snow, a skillful debater, is turning the heat more often on reporters. On the Web, clusters of like-minded conservatives now cheer Mr. Snow's comebacks to combative reporters like Hearst columnist Helen Thomas -- at 85, the dean of the White House press corps. During an exchange over North Korea at the July 10 briefing, for example, Mr. Snow bluntly told Ms. Thomas that "you're wrong." At another briefing, Mr. Snow accused Ms. Thomas of "pestering the teacher" with interruptions. The gruff but grandmotherly Ms. Thomas later complained about the exchange during an appearance on Comedy Central's "Daily Show with Jon Stewart," prompting sympathy from Mr. Stewart. Ms. Thomas was promoting her new book. Mr. Snow says the briefing has become faster-paced. "Coming from the business, I think it does make a difference. ... I want to have fun," he said. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
