Change needs to come to White House press briefing room

OPINION:

In just over a month, Karoline Leavitt will become the 37th White House press secretary and hold her first briefing. When I stepped into the briefing room, I ushered in a series of changes, and Ms. Leavitt should build on those changes with her own, especially regarding how the briefing room operates.

There are two fundamental aspects to the room: who can get in and how do they get space (and a seat). The White House press office is in complete control of who gets in. Credentials are issued in three types: daily passes, weekly passes and hard passes, which offer permanent access to the briefing room after a security check.

When I served as press secretary, I approved every application for credentials. Anyone who wanted to attend a briefing was free to do so. Under Karine Jean-Pierre, however, the Biden White House has stripped access away from hundreds of independent journalists.

This sweeping action was done without a peep from the White House Correspondents’ Association, which, aside from hosting a yearly dinner with liberal Hollywood types, is the group consisting of media that claims to support press access. The association’s current president works for Politico and was so in the tank for Vice President Kamala Harris that many thought he was auditioning to be Ms. Harris’ press secretary.

On day one, President-elect Donald Trump’s new press team should restore access to anyone looking to cover the White House. Beyond access to the briefing room, getting a seat and a workplace is an area ripe for change. The briefing room has 49 seats and standing room in the aisles and back. The seating chart was last updated during my tenure in 2017 and again in January 2022.

Aside from Fox News, the front row is dominated by left-wing legacy outlets: NBC News, CBS News, The Associated Press, ABC News, Reuters and CNN. The second row consists of The Wall Street Journal, CBS News Radio, Bloomberg, NPR, The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today.

The White House Correspondents’ Association is allowed to set the seating chart. In the 1990s, the White House press office grew tired of determining which outlets sat where in the briefing room, who got workspace and who got stand-up locations to broadcast from the White House driveway. The press office delegated that duty to the correspondents’ association.

If you don’t have an assigned seat, you can stand in an aisle or at the back of the room, hoping to get called on. Traditionally, although not during my tenure, the press secretary starts the briefing by calling on the outlets sitting in the front row, rarely answering questions from anyone beyond the first couple of rows.

The seating chart should be thrown out on day one of the new administration. Make it first come, first served. There is no reason these left-wing groups should be guaranteed a seat. It’s not their room; it’s government property. Despite their sense of entitlement, they are not entitled to a seat.

When I was press secretary, I brought new voices to the briefings via Skype. Reporters not based in Washington didn’t have the staff or budget to travel and had been left out of the dialogue. The issues important to their readers and viewers are just as important — if not more — than the Beltway crew. I often called on reporters in the back of the room and those standing off to the side. Why are their questions less important than those of The Washington Post or The New York Times? I changed it then, and more can be done.

Here is a dirty little secret about members of the White House press corps: As much as they like to talk about media access, the First Amendment and press freedom, in reality, they want to limit access and dialogue to the legacy left-wing outlets.

The new press office should use technology to bring in more voices. The Trump campaign did a great job of using independent media and long-form podcasts. Invite these folks into the fold. Hold calls with them. Have them attend briefings and call on them. I brought reporters and talk show hosts into the briefing via Skype. Build out the digital and social media teams; Mr. Trump has effectively driven a message using them.

Mr. Trump will shake things up in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. The press briefing room will be one of those places.

• Sean Spicer served as the 30th White House press secretary and as White House communications director under President Donald Trump in 2017. He is co-host of “The Morning Meeting” on YouTube.