Print Reporters: Odd Men Out on White House Plane
By Joe Strupp
Published: October 13, 2005 4:09 PM ET
NEW YORK Restrictions on the number of journalists allowed to tag along on advance trips to foreign countries to be visited by President Bush have raised objections from White House reporters, leading to a formal complaint.
The writers contend that new limits, which have cut in half the number of media people permitted to go, curtails their ability to prepare for the overseas excursions.
In the past, up to six media representatives were given space on the White House plane, said Mark Smith, an AP radio reporter and president of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA). In most cases, the WHCA would divide up the space among four television people, one radio person, and a print reporter. Following the trip, each representative writes up a report for reporters in their designated news field.
"When they are done right, they have a wealth of detail and it is stuff that is next to impossible to gather when you are arriving late one day, covering three presidential events, and leaving at noon the next day," Smith said about the reports. "The TV people write for the TV people, the radio person for radio people, and the print the same."
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