Incoming Trump White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly suggested press credentials to the president’s Briefing Room could be handed out to podcasters and social media influencers, effectively bodying out some legacy media journalists as the new administration seeks to drag media access out of the 1980s and into the New Year.
There are only so many seats in that briefing room. Start adding podcasters and folks at the big networks, and newspapers are sure to be left on the outside looking in.
Leavitt gave an indication of how they plan to reshape the media landscape in an interview Monday with FOX News host Kellyanne Conway.
One White House reporter suggested the press corp might boycott briefings if the Trump White House makes the shift to alternative and independent media.
MSNBC has been down 57 percent, and CNN has been down 49 percent since the period leading up to Election Day. Perhaps there is some fatigue and depression among Harris voters, but they also clearly did not appreciate being lied to leading up to the election about Trump being “Hitler.”
Leavitt went on to point out that the American people, as evidenced by the 2024 presidential election results, are no longer listening to the legacy media. They are turning to other sources for their news and information.
Are such people consequential enough to cover the news going forward? Leavitt thinks so.
As previously reported by RedState, journalists have already been fretting about the next administration possibly freezing out their access in favor of podcasters and internet personalities.
“As for the press briefing room,” she replied to Conway, “we are certainly exploring ways on how to make sure that room reflects the media habits of the American people in 2024, not in the 1980s.”
As such, these dinosaurs and their reporters may not be ideal sources for covering the new White House press briefing room.