Obama More Committed to Government Transparency Than News Media?

Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 3:00 PM on January 22, 2009.

All right, now they're just showing off: In yet another bid to inject transparency into government after Bush's eight-year quest to eradicate ... truth, the Obama White House devoted space on its Web site for pool reports -- accounts of the president’s daily activities written by White House correspondents (via "Political Animal").

News organizations balked at the prospect of handing over reporters’ work to the government. Why? The Washington Post explains:

In short, because covering the president around-the-clock is expensive -- and pool reports belong to the news organizations funding the coverage. News organizations also want to be able to control the integrity and the use of their products. That is especially true on domestic and foreign trips, the costs of which are determined by how many reporters travel because they split the cost. If all news organizations could simply look up the pool reports online instead of paying to travel with the president, it could create a disincentive for some news outlets to actually go, thus raising costs for those organizations providing the news.

Makes sense. There's definitely something to be said for not creating a disincentive for reporters to report stuff.

Although, Steve Benen writes in "Political Animal," " ... it's an unusual dynamic -- the White House is so committed to transparency, news professionals believe the president's team is going too far."

Tagged as: press, white house, benen, pool reports, government transparency