Once again, the Donald Trump administration is being scrutinized for its press briefing strategy, this time on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”
During a panel on Sunday’s show, journalists discussed the implications of the White House’s refusal to host as many on-camera briefings as its predecessors.
New York Magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi said, “This week, one of the only on-camera briefings was when (deputy press secretary) Sarah Huckabee Sanders used it as an excuse to attack CNN, attack the media more broadly, and attack, specifically, Russia reporting. I think there was a reason why we were all assembled there and why the cameras were there. It was very transparent at the time.”
She continued, “We were not allowed to watch Donald Trump’s fundraiser at his hotel this week. I had to assemble with a bunch of other reporters outside in the lobby of the hotel. I hope it’s not the new normal. I think we need an opportunity to question the White House officials on the record, on camera, to hold them accountable. A lot of people say the briefing is useless, we don’t get any answers from it. I completely disagree. I think any opportunity to question this White House on the record, on camera, we need to take.”
After Nuzzi made it clear she places importance on having “more transparency,” CNN’s Brian Stelter said, “Anti-media attacks and lack of press access are related. It’s part of the same story.”
Earlier in the day, President Trump tweeted a video of himself tackling a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his face, which the panel had discussed previously. Regarding lack of access and how it was related to the tweet and broader attacks on media, The Baltimore Sun’s media critic David Zurawik zeroed in on “the creeping kind of secrecy, secret government” he sees demonstrated by this administration.
“That’s what this fight in the press room is about,” he said.
Zurawik shared his displeasure with Huckabee Sanders for using one of her rare moments in an on-camera briefing to share a video about CNN produced by “propagandist” James O’Keefe, whose work was dismissed earlier this week by CNN’s Van Jones.
