LASTWORD
Respecting the Press
S
everal years ago, after I boarded the That said, many journalists salivated Acela for one of my many trips be- about the change in administrations, not – tween Washington, D.C., and New as the rightwing punditocracy would have York City, police dogs began sniffing us believe – because they’re Democrats, but through the car. A few moments later, a stream because during the previous four years there of Secret Service agents boarded. And then, had been so many leaks they sometimes felt there he was: Joe Biden, the Vice President of as though they were being waterboarded. the United States. “Amtrak Joe” was headed They were yearning to catch their breath. home to Delaware for the weekend. I wanted to shake his hand, but I was intercepted by a woman sprinting ahead of me, who I would later learn was a congresswoman. She plopped down next to the veep and talked to him during the entire ride to Wilmington. The only thing I could make out from their conversation was when the vice president raised his voice and said, “Listen. I know my job!” When now-President Biden took office in January, he promised to be a kinder, gentler commander in chief. Joe Biden with NBCUniversal’s Jose Diaz-Balart He told White House staffers, “I will fire you on the spot … if I hear you Biden’s actions have sometimes been treating [anyone] with disrespect.” counter to his pledge to run a much That admonition was tested three more press-friendly administration. weeks later when deputy press secretary, T.J. Ducklo, had to resign after beratWhat they got from Team Biden was a ing a reporter for asking about his roman- watertight, highly disciplined communitic history with a journalist on the White cations team. Leaks are rare. Direct access House beat. to the President is less frequent. Once in a Six months later, the president himself lost while, somebody “forgets” to include the his temper when asked a question by a re- press pool at events. Administration officials porter after a summit with Vladimir Putin. who speak to reporters on background – to “What the hell? … You’re in the wrong busi- be quoted but without attribution – must ness!” he snapped. A few minutes later, he have their comments cleared in advance. apologized. But a clip of the exchange would It seems a lot like, well, the Obama admingo viral and become the set-up for a Stephen istration. Or the Bush 43 administration. In Colbert joke: “Wow. That was some strong other words, any 21st Century administragrandpa’s-had-it-with-your-lip energy.” tion that didn’t include Donald Trump. White House/journalist relations during That’s not to say that nirvana now resides the Trump administration were almost at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. To be honest, it constantly love-hate, with reporters getting was probably never really there. nearly unprecedented access to a president The Bush and Obama administrations who craved attention more than Big Macs. had nasty records of persecuting and even Yet his press secretaries acted as though they prosecuting journalists who reported on were wartime consiglieres. leaked classified information. Both presidents
30 The Financial Manager • September/October 2021
loathed certain news organizations. Obama’s early comms team tried to ban Fox News from the White House briefing room, until virtually every other network protested. Since the dawn of his presidency, Biden’s actions have sometimes been counter to his pledge to run a much more press-friendly administration. He decided not to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. He looked the other way when the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services (HHS) prohibited Border Patrol officers and HHS employees from speaking with journalists as a new wave of immigrants flooded the southern border. Press freedom groups had to beg the Department of Justice (DOJ) to include the treatment of journalists as part of its reviews of police responses in Minneapolis and Louisville following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In a “Casablanca”-type epiphany (“I’m shocked to find that gambling’s going on in here!”), the Justice Department “discovered” that DOJ attorneys had subpoenaed journalists’ phone and email records and obtained gag orders keeping it secret. Attorney General Merrick Garland pledged to stop it, and the House is considering a law to make sure it’s stopped for good. “Amtrak Joe” now takes Air Force One. But I think occasionally about his words: “Listen. I know my job!” Respectf u lly, Mr. President, when it comes to press access and transparency, please do it. Dan Shelley is executive director of the Radio Television Digital News Association, an association devoted to broadcast and digital journalism. He can be reached at dans@rtdna.org.
PHOTO BY ADAM SCHULTZ / BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT
President Biden’s relationship with journalists is markedly different than Trump’s. And it’s not all positive, to say the least. BY DAN SHELLEY
