President Barack Obama is bringing change to the East Room news conference.
During a 55-minute session with reporters at the White House on Tuesday night, Obama fielded questions from 13 reporters. It was the second prime-time formal news conference of his presidency, and coincidentally the first also lasted almost exactly an hour and involved 13 questioners.
What has created a bit of buzz both times was who was on the list — and who wasn’t. News organizations who got questions Tuesday included The Associated Press and all five major television outlets, plus Politico, the Spanish-language network Univision, the military’s Stars and Stripes newspaper, Agence France-Presse, Ebony magazine, ABC Radio and The Washington Times, the only major newspaper on the list.
“The president covered a range of topics, including his commitment to addressing the economic crisis, by calling on a wide range of outlets — including some that rarely, if ever, are given the opportunity to pose a question at a presidential news conference,” said Josh Earnest, a White House deputy press secretary.
At Obama’s last news conference in February, the president’s list received some attention for including a reporter from the Huffington Post Web site.
