Delay or not delay, who cares? The only Media that shows the WH press briefings live are C-Span and Cable newsers FOX, MSNBC and CNN. Regardless of a live show or tape delay the briefing is gonna be reported on one way or another. Tape delay only means good things for a WH by having limited viewing but the fear of the “gotcha” question is sad. That’s what a good/talented reporter is supposed to do; press the Admin for answers and when you’re already being combative with the Media, well wear a helmet and stand up to the mic – PB/TK
Would the White House press briefing work better on tape delay? – By Allahpundit / June 28 2017
Ari Fleischer and Mike McCurry, each a former press secretary, say yes. I don’t get it.
“So, what to do differently? First, we recommend that President-elect Trump keep the press briefing, but no longer make it a live televised event. The briefing today has become an occasion for too much posturing on both sides of the camera. The president’s spokesman should and must be available for questioning, especially on those days when the president’s schedule does not include a public appearance.
But a simple change could make a difference. If the briefing is “embargoed” until its conclusion, it will become just one of several raw ingredients that journalists can use to prepare their reports on the work of the president and the White House. It would instantly become a toned-down briefing, and reporters would use the information from the briefing and test it against other sources as they prepare coverage. It would not be a “news event” in and of itself. An exception could be made by the White House if there is a major compelling event that demands live coverage, but the emphasis of the briefing should be on gathering and delivering real content. Too much of the briefing today is a game of “gotcha” and “what did the president do wrong?” A better model would focus on facts and substance.”
I don’t care if the briefing goes off-camera entirely but lots of reporters do, insisting that in a video age there’s no substitute for actually seeing how Sean Spicer or Sarah Huckabee Sanders fields a question. The problem is that video encourages grandstanding by both the press corps and the press secretary. Who knows how that dopey exchange yesterday between Sanders and the reporter from Playboy would have played out if there was no viewing audience for each to pander to. The Supreme Court has banned cameras for decades for precisely this reason, because they suspect lawyers will start speechifying for the home audience instead of engaging with the justices’ questions if oral arguments are carried live. Fleischer and McCurry are looking for the middle ground — give the media the video it craves but take away the incentive to grandstand. Solution: Tape delay.
Continue to hotair.com article: http://hotair.com/archives/2017/06/28/white-house-press-briefing-work-better-tape-delay/
