US presidents and media
By Sarah Jacobs
President Bill Clinton discusses his campaign with reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington on November 6, 1996./AP Photo
The US president’s relationship with the press has long been a complicated one, and it has varied from administration to administration. To name just a few examples, President Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to thwart certain stories from going to press, while President Gerald Ford was friendly with journalists and even invited some to White House state dinners.
The Associated Press has been documenting the lives of presidents since the early 1930s, capturing candid moments of each commander-in-chief since President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
From press briefings to interviews aboard Air Force One, here are 14 AP photos of presidents interacting with the press.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt would invite members of the press into the Oval Office for briefings twice a week.
August 25, 1939AP
Source: The New York Times
Press briefings don’t come to a halt while the president is on vacation. Here, Harry S. Truman had the press visit his Winter White House in Key West, Florida.
March 30, 1950AP
It was President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s press secretary, James Haggerty, that established some still-standing traditions between the president and the press, like regularly scheduled news conferences.
AP
Source: The New York Times
After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, President John F. Kennedy warned the press to limit publishing news that might help American enemies. In that same speech he also said: “No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.”
After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, President John F. Kennedy warned the press to limit publishing news that might help American enemies. In that same speech he also said: “No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.”
January 25, 1961AP
Source: The New York Times
President Lyndon B. Johnson reportedly had a lot of charm while talking on the phone, but he was also extremely wary of the press, and at times, he attempted to influence stories. Johnson once called FBI head J. Edgar Hoover for help in suppressing a Washington Post editorial that would call for an investigation into President Kennedy’s assassination.
Oct. 24, 1968Charles Gorry/AP
Source: The Smithsonian
President Richard Nixon was the first president to refer to reporters as “the media.” In 1969, Nixon reportedly instructed Vice President Spiro Agnew to make statements that attacked the press in a similar fashion to opposing political parties. The Washington Post famously broke the news of President Nixon’s Watergate scandal, and while their reporters were still allowed in the press briefing room, they were banned from various White House events.
President Richard Nixon is interviewed by Dan Rather at the White House on Jan. 2, 1972.Harvey Georges/AP
Source: The Atlantic, The Smithsonian
President Gerald Ford was reportedly friendly to the press. He invited six journalists to his first state dinner, held a week into his presidency.
Aug. 29, 1974AP
Source: The Washington Post
President Jimmy Carter held 59 formal news conferences during his term.
July 1, 1979AP
Source: The New York Times
By the 1980s, the Reagan administration’s press team had “achieved a new level of control over” over news coverage, according to The New York Times.
Lana Harris/AP
Source: The New York Times
During his 1988 presidential campaign, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush criticized TV anchor and journalist Dan Rather after he asked questions about the Iran-Contra scandal.
Jan. 27, 1989Charles Tasnadi/AP
Source: C-SPAN
President Bill Clinton’s press secretary, Mike McCurry, was the first to allow live television coverage of the White House press briefings. He has noted that viewership went up during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
July 17, 1993Joe Marquette/AP
Source: CJR
“They reject an assumption embraced by most reporters: that we are neutral and represent the public interest. Rather, they see the press as just another special interest.”
In 2004, The New Yorker published an extensive article analyzing the relationship between the press and the George W. Bush White House. Writer Ken Auletta said of the administration in an interview: “They reject an assumption embraced by most reporters: that we are neutral and represent the public interest. Rather, they see the press as just another special interest.”
Aug. 21, 2006Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP
Source: The New Yorker
President Barack Obama’s team often used social media to communicate with the American public. In late 2013, 38 news organizations signed a letter of complaint about the lack of access photojournalists were being granted to document public White House events.
Jan. 22, 2009Charles Dharapak/AP
Source: The Atlantic
President Donald Trump’s relationship with the media has been strained and adversarial. On Twitter, the president has repeatedly called news organizations like CNN, The New York Times, CBS, NBC News, and ABC “fake news.”
Feb. 16, 2017Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Source: Twitter
