White House media wary of press room makeover

[norml]

White House media wary of press room makeover
By Jim VandeHei, Washington Post | March 29, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering kicking the Washington press corps out of the White House -- at least for a month or so.

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The stuffy, packed, run-down White House briefing room has become something of a safety hazard over the years and may require a top-to-bottom renovation this summer, according to administration officials. President Bush, who sometimes holds news conferences in the room, recently made a personal pitch for a new, airier briefing room, taking some reporters by surprise.

''Listen, whoever thought about modernizing this room deserves a lot of credit," Bush said at the end of the news conference. ''Like, there's very little oxygen in here anymore. And so, for the sake of a healthy press corps and a healthy president, I'm going to end the press conference."

The renovation, which might begin in August, appears to be the brainchild of Joe Hagin, a deputy White House chief of staff who has broached the idea with at least one reporter.

If the administration moves forward, the dozens of reporters who work and virtually live in the cramped quarters will be relocated outside the White House, a scenario that doesn't sit well with some journalists concerned about long-term access to the president and administration officials. Temporary accommodations likely would be in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building nearby.



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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/03/29/white_house_media_wary_of_press_room_makeover/

[GetTheRightVote]

1. So * is becoming afriad of losing his control on the media now ??

Is this a good sign then ? I sure hope so.

:kick:

[AndyTiedye]

2. No Need for Press Conferences

The "reporters" can all just sit in their offices and wait for KKKarl
to fax them their stories all ready for the six-o-clock news.

[Salviati]

3. So... then the plan is Iran in August then, eh?

[radfringe]

4. going to be renamed "The Plant House"

Think of it as a game -- "How many real reporters/journalists can you find?"

[MADem]

5. Ya know, that USED to be the damn POOL!!!!

The WH actually had a nice little indoor pool--Kennedy used it a lot for his back. Nixon filled it in with concrete, and shoved the reporters in there. They should restore the pool, and just add on in the back, and give the media a purpose-built facility from the ground up--or even below ground.

Knowing these paranoid freaks, I wouldn't be surprised if they bug the joint to find out which enemies, er, journalists, had any disloyal thoughts....

[Flammable Materials]

8. We built a media superstructure for the reporters in Baghdad ... n/t

[Clark2008]

9. Yep - and that's why they call it the "White House Press Pool"

That's where the name came from.

[flordehinojos]

6. that is one more way to revitalize and strengthen the "bubble", "moat",

"dictator's fortress" which bush inhabits and through which he makes himself the supreme god of this unwanted dictatorship, which he has imposed on this country.

[dbt]

7. Let the Lapdogs stay in a kennel.

Maybe if they'd actually done something to warrant getting their sorry asses thrown out, I'd have some sympathy and some taste. The White House Press Corpse is a joke.

[izzie]

10. I guess he has only been in the room about 20 times.

I guess Bush wants to get it into his bubble and have a trap door for the men he does not like. I love living in Oz my self.