An Access Problem p.

By: Debra Gersh

Reporters grumbling over early attempts by the Clinton administration to limit press coverage and manage the news sp.

DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL campaign, there was much talk about how the candidates bypassed traditional media to bring their messages right to the people.
The campaign is over, but many are charging the new administration is continuing that strategy, in some cases
to the point of denying media access altogether.
Grumbling about lack of admittance to inaugural events began early, and culminated with cutting press access to the offices of the White House press secretary and media officers behind the briefing room. Traditionally, the area, which is next to the pressroom, has been open to White House correspondents. The area was closed to the press and blocked by a security guard following the inauguration.
A number of journalists began the inaugural week angry that they could not get credentialed for the bus trip that brought the president- and vice president-elect and their families to Washington.
One correspondent for a large, upstate New York daily newspaper, was particularly incensed by the apparent randomness with which inaugural credentials were issued.
He argued that there was little attention paid to his newspaper's size or its history when credentials were issued, and he was angered by what he called the arrogance of Clinton staffers when he called to try to rectify the situation.
Access to the balls also was limited. Press ticket holders were to be limited to a roped-in area, but many reporters found that simply by removing their credentials they could wander freely among the guests.
Wendy Burt, deputy director of the inaugural media center set up at George Washington University, said there were some 35,000 individuals from 1,200 media organizations seeking inaugural event credentials.
Burt said the committee just tried to be fair, and tried to make sure everyone got at least something.
At the media center at George Washington University's Marvin Center, 200 charge-a-call telephones were installed, numerous televisions were set up for viewing events as available, and inaugural releases and pool reports were available. In addition, daily inaugural briefings were held there, UPS set up a desk for reduced-rate shipping and overnight delivery, and the transition press office was located in the same building.
Despite the amenities of the press center, reporters still wanted to get out and cover the inaugural, but many found their access limited.
Susan Milligan, White House correspondent for the New York Daily News, said lack of access could be traced back to the early days of the Clinton campaign in New Hampshire, when Clinton volunteers would try to confine reporters to roped-off areas.
Milligan said the real turning point in terms of access to Clinton seemed to be after a supermarket tabloid printed Gennifer Flowers' allegations of a long-term affair with the Arkansas governor. Other media quickly picked up the story, despite the fact that many had been unable to confirm similar rumors themselves (E&P, Feb. 8, 1992, P. 7).
The move to limit access likely was not in retaliation for printing the story but, rather, because "They realized they got better press if they went over heads of media directly to the people," Milligan explained, citing the Clintons' appearance on 60 Minutes as an example.
Milligan, who covered the entire Clinton campaign, also was frustrated by lack of access to some inaugural events.
Another Daily News reporter, covering the Presidential Gala concert, was denied access to the arena and instead had to watch the program from a separate room.
At the Faces of Hope luncheon honoring people whom Clinton and Gore had met during the quest for office, Milligan said reporters were forced to wait outside the building for hours until the participants exited.
"What they like to do is have everything on tv so it's not filtered through anyone. No one can ask questions," she said, adding that she "didn't go to events I normally would have, because we just stood outside."
The White House press officers, she said, "have one mission, to make their guy look good . . . . That's going to be a problem," especially as reporters grow frustrated with "soundbite responses" instead of real answers.
Andrew J. Glass, Cox Newspapers bureau chief, said he thinks the situation at the White House is more serious than what happened during the inauguration "because the people who are running the show are still in the campaign mode. Images and symbols are paramount."
Glass said the idea is to "bypass the middleman, the press," and communicate the president's positions directly to the people.
He thinks, however, "They're headed for a fall if they believe that's a wise thing to do."
Glass noted that "It is the traditional and fundamental role of the press to represent the public interest. That's why we have any privileges at the White House."
Cox staffers have told Glass they have had trouble with White House communications staffers ? calls not returned, the inability to get any meaningful information ? but the bureau chief said he hoped this was just a nervous beginning, with the problems caused by simple inexperience.
"I think they're off to a bad start in their press relations," Glass commented. "I think some of it is a certain lack of respect for journalists, which was conditioned by their experience in the campaign, but will lead inevitably to grief in the long run."
Glass said, "Access is the key. If phone calls are not returned and information is incomplete and inconsequential and not really responsive, then that is going to strain the relationship.
"That has to be if you're running a campaign, trying to set a mood, working with images and symbols. You don't want to telegraph too much to the other side," he explained.
"It's a whole different deal when you're running the government . . . . If you want to continue in the campaign mode and deal with people as if you're in some perpetual campaign, you will run into unnecessary problems."
For example, Glass said, when it comes to major issues, there may be no real understanding about what the president is thinking, how he is organizing his staff and setting priorities.
"To be fair," Glass added, "there is ample opportunity for [George] Stephanopoulos and Clinton to do a midcourse correction, and that would be the best solution."
These characterizations, however, run counter to the impression of Nancy Kemp of KMB Publishers in Arkansas.
Kemp, co-publisher with her husband of five weekly newspapers in the president's home state, said she first met Clinton 20 years ago while working as a reporter for the Daily Courier Democrat in Russellville, Ark.
The former governor, who has an uncanny knack for remembering names, she said, used to have regular meetings with editors around the state. She said Clinton is very warm, very direct, and "he tries to accommodate you as best he can."
On Monday, Jan. 25, leaders of the White House Correspondents Association met with Stephanopoulos to express their concern about closing off the press offices and other problems.
Karen Hosler of the Baltimore Sun, president of the WHCA, said Stephanopoulos and press secretary Dee Dee Myers "listened politely and took our views under advisement."
Stephanopoulos, she said, expressed concern that there would not be enough room in the staff press offices if reporters were free to go back there and hang around.
The correspondents association suggested he open it up and give it a try, according to Hosler, who said, with the exception of the Persian Gulf war, that has not really been a problem.
One suggestion from Stephanopoulos was to appoint a deputy press secretary to be stationed in the lower press office. This person would theoretically be able to answer more of the mundane, day-to-day questions and then relay messages back to Stephanopoulos or Myers as necessary.
"We do not think that will work well," Hosler said. "The person we need access to is George. Dee Dee does not sit in on senior staff meetings. George is the only person in the communications pod who actually goes to senior staff meetings." It is his close relationship with the president and his knowledge of the inner workings of the White House that the press corps rely on, she explained.
The 45-minute meeting was almost entirely centered around the closing of the press offices, Hosler said, adding that other issues discussed included pools, getting comments earlier in the day about overnight developments, and putting the daily 12:30 p.m. briefings on sound and camera.
"What they have not realized, and this will take some time, is that this is a different situation," Hosler explained. "They have not grasped the fact that there is a whole bunch of neutral information we need, nitty-gritty stuff about government . . .
"I don't think that fact has sunk in yet, [that there is an] enormous information flow. They're not just representing Bill Clinton, they're representing and speaking for the whole U.S. government."
During his daily briefing the day after the meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 26, Stephanopoulos, when asked about the offices, said he had met with the WHCA and was continuing to look at the situation. A decision, he said, would come soon.