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Trump considers moving press briefing room from White House

Trump considers moving press briefing room from White House

Posted January. 18, 2017 07:10,   

Updated January. 18, 2017 07:20

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The Oval Office, which is an official office of U.S. president, is located at the West Wing of the White House. Former U.S. President Richard Nixon built the White House press briefing room at a site where an indoor pool was located in the Oval Office in 1969 and named it as “West Terrace Press Center” after seeing an influx of White House correspondents coming into the White House. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton changed the name to “James Brady Press Briefing Room” to pay homage to James Brady who was a White House press secretary under President Ronald Reagan who became permanently disabled from a gunshot to assassinate President Reagan in 1981.

The actual press briefing room is small and simply decorated. There are only 49 seats available, while the number of White House correspondents reaches as much as 750. The front rows are usually occupied by journalists at major media outlets such as the Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. The press briefing room is located at a good spot for journalists to write a story as the Oval Office and offices of vice president, White House chief of staff, press secretary and other high-ranking cabinet members are all located in the West Wing.

Amid unfriendly relationship with major media sources, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump considers relocation of the current press briefing room from the West Wing to off-site Executive Office Building or the White House Conference Center. The move is intended to accommodate unconventional journalists such as online bloggers and radio hosts, according to incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer. However, the White House correspondents became outraged by reports of a possible relocation. “In the 1890s, journalists covering the president were forced to stand vigil outside the White House fence, querying visitors for scraps of information,” reported The New York Times, concerning the move could send journalists back into the past.

Former Korean President Roh Moo-hyun introduced an open-registration system to the press center in March 2003, allowing access to journalists of online media outlets. It prohibited the existing protocol whereby journalists are allowed to visit the secretary office directly. Trump seems to have a similar motive, which is to stay closer to nontraditional media outlets supporting him while controlling unfriendly major media outlets. What is happening in Washington reminds of the attempt by the Korean government 14 years ago. Obviously, Trump holds a grudge against criticisms by media outlets during the presidential election as former Korean President Roh did.