Leesa Donner
Liberty Nation
In the pecking order of most sought-after media perks lies a seat in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room inside the White House. For decades, the good old boy media network has ruled with an iron fist over this coveted perch, which provides journalists with an opportunity to question the White House press secretary – and, on rare occasions, the president of the United States. Incoming President Donald Trump is reportedly mulling over a new setup that would allow independent media and podcasters to have a seat at the table. Naturally, the established press is recoiling at the mere thought of such a move.
Founder of the Media Research Center, L Brent Bozell, responded to an inquiry from Liberty Nation News about the potential heave-ho of the corporate media. Bozell sits atop the MRC, which has steadfastly chronicled media bias in America for decades:
I am truly excited to hear that Trump wants to reorganize the White House Press Briefing Room. It’s about time! The evidence – empirical, irrefutable evidence – shows the so-called ‘legacy’ so-called ‘news’ media are nothing more than a megaphone for the far left in America. They spent the entire 2016 campaign trying to prevent Trump from winning the presidency. They spent his entire presidency trying to get him removed. They spent the entire 2020 campaign trying to defeat him. They spent the entire 2024 campaign again trying to prevent him from winning. It is crystal clear that going further, they have no intention – none – of reporting the news fairly.
Breaking the exclusivity of the White House press briefing room has traditionally been a heavy lift for alternative news outlets like Liberty Nation News. The seating is doled out by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that divides membership into four categories: red, blue, green, and honorary. Only a red WHCA member is permitted to sit in the press briefing room. The WHCA scrutinizes newcomers based on strict and arcane criteria in coordination with a Congressional Standing Committee. The application process is arduous and includes several letters of recommendation, but only after the media outlet in which the applicant is employed is deemed acceptable.
President Trump has a penchant for shaking things up, but this move that has caused such a kerfuffle in the WHCA was actually proposed by his son, Donald Trump Jr. During a recent podcast, Don Jr pitched the idea, saying:
If The New York Times has lied, they’ve been averse to everything; they’re functioning as the marketing arm of the Democrat Party. Why not open it up to people who have larger viewerships, stronger followings?
White House Press Has a Credibility Problem
Since Donald Trump entered the political arena, corporate/legacy/mainstream media (pick your poison) credibility has dramatically fallen in the public square. Citing a recent Gallup poll, the Daily Signal pointed out: “The share of Americans with either a ‘great deal’ or even just a ‘fair amount’ of trust in mainstream media has fallen from 45 per cent in 2018 to just 31 per cent in 2024.”
This sharp decline is attributed to the extraordinary bias that many Americans impute to the legacy media. This bias – which has been well documented by the Media Research Center – is at cross purposes with the primary goal of the WHCA. On its website, the association claims:
It is our job to report on the president of the United States, to shine a light and hold the administration accountable. The questions we ask in the briefing room or in the Oval Office are on behalf of the American people.
Despite this lofty mission statement, the current members of the Correspondents’ Association have represented only those Americans who intensely dislike President Trump. As LNN’s Graham Noble documented back in 2017:
The public has always expected journalists to hold the government accountable and objectively document the intentions and actions of our political leaders. That expectation has given way to cynicism. The filter between the White House and the people is now a politicized distortion.
This is the crux of the problem that the new administration hopes to nip in the bud before Jan 20. Thus, the effort to bring new blood into the White House Press Briefing Room is likely to begin in earnest over the next month.
The new administration’s initiative is laudable but will likely be met with fierce opposition from the White House Correspondents’ Association. But, then again, Mr Trump specializes in making changes by sheer force of will and usually with the backing of the American people.
This article was originally published by Liberty Nation News.
