Photo Editors Voice Access Concerns To White House

 

WASHINGTON, DC (January 23, 2009) – After President Barack Obama took the oath of office for a second time in a "do-over" Wednesday night at the White House without press photographers in attendance, and after still photographers were also not allowed to cover an economics meeting on Thursday, or the president's first morning behind his new desk, news organizations that cover the White House confronted the incoming administration over access issues for photographers and about the press office's new rules for briefings.

The problem started Wednesday when the White House released a photograph by Pete Souza, Obama's new official photographer, of the President taking the oath of office for a second time from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a ceremony witnesses only by a handful of reporters, recorded only in audio, and shot only by Souza. There were also no television video cameras present.

The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse initially refused to distribute the image, concerned that in the opening hours of the new administration there was a precedent being set for preferring White House images being distributed instead of allowing open access.

The White House photograph was published on multiple news Web sites, however, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, even if the three wire services refused to transmit it. Some credit lines for the photo, like the one on MSNBC.com, read "handout via AFP-Getty Images."

The White House pool of press photographers also didn't get to see Obama's first morning in the Oval Office. Souza's photographs of Obama's first morning behind the famous desk in the West Wing were also offered to the wires as hand-outs, and they reportedly also refused to transmit those images.

AP's managing editor for U.S. news Michael Oreskes said "We are not distributing what are, in effect, visual press releases."

The concerns are not so much about the credibility of Souza's photographs, who is well known for his documentary work as a Chicago Tribune photojournalist, and for his role as a college photojournalism instructor at Ohio University's School of Visual Communication (where his class lessons included ethics and honesty in photography), and for his coverage of the first year of Obama's life as a Senator, which resulted in the book "The Rise Of Barack Obama."

Rather, the concerns editors expressed to the White House yesterday are about access and inclusion, following up on the Obama's administration's campaign and inaugural pledges to "more transparency" in the running of the White House and providing more communication and access to information for the public.

"Access for news photographers has been a time-honored tradition at the White House through many administrations and needs to be continued. We are working diligently with the White House staff to insure access," Oreskes told Politico.

So to address the issue, photography editors from AP, Reuters, and AFP held a conference all Thursday with representatives from Obama's press office.

"I'm impressed that Robert Gibbs [ the new press secretary ] gave a half an hour of his busy time yesterday to talk about this," a veteran Reuters editor told News Photographer magazine today. "I think it went well, and I don't think there will be problems in the future ... I hope it was a misunderstanding." The editor says he doesn't think the incidents were an intentional attempt to circumvent the press, but were more of an oversight or not completely thought out. The concerns were more about letting the incidents go undisputed, and thereby setting a precedent.

"We think it was done in a way that was upfront and transparent," AP reported Gibbs as saying when questioned why video cameras were not present. Pressed on the matter, he said, "we would have had to get a bigger room."

And the New York Post addressed the issue in an Op/Ed piece, but strangely they went so far as to criticize the quality of Souza's photography in an Editorial published without a byline. "Perhaps he just had a bad day - or maybe his equipment needs modernizing," the Post wrote, the unknown writer clearly not understanding the concept of intentionally minimizing a photograph's depth of field.

The wire services were also concerned about new press rules that didn't allow journalists to use the names of administration officials who gave background briefings on issues surrounding the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Editors want to name sources whenever possible, telling Gibbs that information is "more valuable to the public if you know where it's coming from." AP's Oreskes told Gibbs, "We try very hard in all source situations to identify sources as fully as we can."

Somewhat ironically, also on Thursday the new President paid a surprise visit to the recently-remodeled White House Press Briefing room, AP reports, surprising journalists as he walked through the cramped quarters and even visiting the vending machine area in the rear of the room.

"We will try to have a relationship that is respectful and where you guys fell like you're actually getting answers," Obama told the media.

He said the press working area was "smaller" than he expected, and he asked journalists how the seating arrangements had been determined.

About the soda and "junk food" vending machines, AP says Obama commented that perhaps the journalists should think about getting "some healthier snacks."

 

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