Media

WH Press Corps Erupts In Protest After AP Again Lets Psaki Off The Hook Early

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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The White House press conference erupted in protest Monday after Associated Press (AP) reporter Josh Boak ended the briefing early.

Boak called for the end of the briefing after only 39 minutes, leading New York Post reporter Steve Nelson to stand up and tell Boak that reporters in the back rows had unanswered questions. Steve Portnoy, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), has said it is tradition for the oldest wire service, the AP, to determine the end of the briefings whether or not other reporters have questions.

Photographs show Portnoy standing at the front of the room responding to tensions between reporters, which lasted for around six minutes. (RELATED: ‘Let Me Finish’: Doocy And Psaki Share Heated Exchange Over Rising Gas Prices) 

Tensions boiled over when Lynn Sweet, the Washington-Bureau Chief at the Chicago Sun-Times, called for an end to the tradition of the oldest wire service determining the end of the briefing so that all attendees “feel they have a shot” to speak, according to tapes obtained by the Daily Caller.

“Baby steps, can we maybe think about ending the tradition of having one of our own end the briefing and let the White House end the briefing?” Sweet suggested. Another reporter chimed in that it “is not right” for one reporter to end the event.

Portnoy replied “that is a decision for the White House press secretary to make,” tapes revealed. He told the reporters he would consider the issue at stake, leading a handful of reporters to cheer.

One reporter argued that the tradition has caused a roadblock in getting her name out to the public and being able to represent Christian and African American media, according to the tapes.

“I’ve been here on my third president and people don’t even know my name,” one reporter said. “That’s significant to me and women’s history month. As an African American woman, it’s significant to me as a person who represents Christian media, African American media, all kinds of media and I never get an opportunity to bring some of these key issues that are unique to my audiences to the table.”

Real Clear News White House correspondent Phillip Melanchthon Wegmann criticized the old tradition, which had been seemingly revived by White House press secretary Jen Psaki in the early months of President Joe Biden’s administration.

“An open question: What is the utility of empowering a wire service to call an end to a White House briefing? Is it for the benefit of @PressSec? Or for a few reporters in the front row? Or the entire press corps? I do hope some serious thought, that is to say, not just nostalgia, went into whether it was wise to revive this tradition,” Wegmann said.

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