Two particular AP journalists were, yes, for a particular trip this weekend (see link below). Members of the “press pool” getting rides on Air Force One is a courtesy (and the news outlets pay for the travel), to make it easier for them to cover the president when he’s traveling.
The linked Voice of America article, from early in Trump’s first term, indicates that, on any given trip, about a dozen press members fly on Air Force One, in the plane’s rear cabin. The article also notes that Trump would sometimes come back to the media cabin and converse off-the-cuff with the press pool (something that other presidents generally didn’t do), but it was more common for the press secretary to do so.
Sounds like people are confusing or conflating three separate processes.
The press pool is the very small group that accompanies the president to places where the seating or standing is limited. The pool produces a summary of events to hand out to all the other news agencies. Pool members normally travel on Air Force One. They are there, unofficially, mostly to witness assassinations, although sometimes the President - more usually other officials - addresses them on the plane.
The White House Press Corps attends the daily news briefing in the White House Press Room. That room is not large, around 30 IIRC. (48, actually, still not very large) They get to ask questions of the Press Secretary and have offices nearby where they can get the news out. These sessions are public and are aired on C-SPAN.
The press is a huge number of outlets that have press cards. They can go to any public event and are usually accorded with a special press area. There may be an official transcript released. Some outings by the President need to have the number of press in the press area limited and lately huge quarrels have arisen about who is a reporter and what are news sources.
Most of the news in this country is transmitted by the Associated Press, which is a cooperative of newspapers. Their reporters along with local “stringers” put news on the AP wire. The Times can afford to have its own reporters cover every story, and maybe the Washington Post and the WSJ, I’m not sure; nobody else can. They publish AP news.
The AP writer would normally write the pool package - eliminating them is plain stupid. But not fatal. The rest of the pool can, and the Press Corps can. The AP reporters will get any real news seconds after everyone else: what the president says to the pool - any president - is not, IMO, real news.
The Chicago Tribune, for one example, used to be able to, at least in part. They had bureaus in other major U.S. cities, and a number of foreign correspondents. AIUI, all of that is gone now, as the paper has gone through several ownership changes, and drastic staffing cuts, in recent years.
Right. Even the largest newspapers are shells of their former selves.
And the AP stands almost alone, since UPI is a shell of its former self.
Reuters, however, has grown and expanded its services inside the U.S. The Gannett chain left the AP for Reuters a couple of years ago. It’s at least as large as the AP worldwide. Reuters news is very good for those looking for an impartial source. Reuters.com
This. It would be one thing if officials were trying to answer questions in good faith. But there’s no reason why any legitimate media outlet should be reporting the propaganda word salads being spewed by Trump and Leavitt. I say leave OANN and Breitbart to cover that bullshit, while the AP, Reuters, NYT and other serious journalists can focus on real investigations into the administration.
I’m sure it salves his ego big time to sit at his desk, and half the room is completely packed with people staring at him with unblinking eyes. It will be even better when all the eyes look at him with adoration. God at His throne with all His attending angels.
I agree with this and my gut says the other networks should walk out in protest. The problem I see is that if 100% of the coverage comes from places like Fox and OANN…that would be bad.
What I’d be okay with is if any time there was something going on, there would be at least one camera in the room with a direct feed to the other outlets so they could at least broadcast and discuss what’s going on. I don’t think anyone actually cares about Trump’s (or Trump’s spokesperson’s) answers to questions from ‘lame stream media’ outlets that consist of little more than insults hurled at the reporter.
Federal judge rules that Trump can’t exclude the AP, in a temporary restraining order. (Judge is a Trump appointee.)
“Under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”
Watching coverage of the Trump meeting with the Ukrainian President that the questions by Brian Glenn and Peter Docey were close to a trained seal act! This is near mirror image to what a Russian citizen gets from President Putin!