White House Press Secretary

Early press relations hosted seven White House press secretaries before the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room underwent renovation. From left, Joe Lockhart, Dee Dee Myers, Marlin Fitzwater, Bush, Tony Snow, Ron Nessen, and James Brady (seated) with his wife Sarah Brady. During the United States' early years, there was not a single designated staff person or office responsible for managing the relationship between the president and the growing number of journalists and media entities that were covering him. It was not until after President Abraham Lincoln's administration that Congress formally appropriated funds for a White House staff, which at first consisted merely of a secretary. Ulysses S. Grant's White House staff officially numbered six people at a cost of $13,800, though he supplemented with personnel from the War Department. Fifty years later under the Coolidge administration, the staff had increased to just fewer than fifty people at a cost of nearly $100,000. the small size of the White House staff at that point meant that Nicolay interacted with the press occasionally in carrying out his duties. including providing information to reporters later in the evening if events had transpired in the afternoon, offering advance copies of remarks prepared for the president, and ensuring reporters received transcripts of unprepared remarks made by the president while traveling, which were recorded by a stenographer. The nascent press corps' appreciation for Cortelyou's responsiveness is similar to how a modern White House press secretary's responsiveness to the press corps can shape their positive or negative view of him or her. Working space in the White House for the press corps The White House "beat" concept that had been started during the Cleveland administration by reporter William Price was continued during the McKinley administration. and the now-famous James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, which was renovated by the George W. Bush administration in 2007. Woodrow Wilson administration When Woodrow Wilson was elected governor of New Jersey in 1910, he asked Joseph P. Tumulty to serve as his private secretary. offering statements or quotes not directly attributable to a specific person, which was used frequently by Henry Kissinger during the Nixon administration. Roosevelt held well over 300 press conferences during his first term. Hagerty had previously been press secretary for New York governor Thomas E. Dewey during his two tries for the presidency. After he won election, Eisenhower appointed Hagerty to be White House press secretary. Hagerty's experience as a journalist helped him perform his role more effectively: "Having spent years as a reporter on the other side of the news barrier, he was not blinded to the reporter's dependence on deadlines, transmission facilities, prompt texts of speeches and statements and the frequent necessity of having to ask seemingly irrelevant and inconsequential questions", wrote John McQuiston in the New York Times". At Hagerty's first meeting with White House reporters on January 21, 1953, he laid down ground rules that are still largely a model for how the press secretary operates. He said: : I would like to say to you fellows that I am not going to play any favorites, and I'm not going to give out any exclusive stories about the president or the White House. : When I say to you, 'I don't know,' I mean I don't know. When I say, 'No comment,' it means I'm not talking, but not necessarily any more than that. : Aside from that, I'm here to help you get the news. I am also here to work for one man, who happens to be the president. And I will do that to the best of my ability. The practice of regularly scheduled presidential news conference was instituted during the Eisenhower administration. Hagerty abolished the longstanding rule that the president could not be directly quoted without permission—for the first time, everything that the president said at a press conference could be printed verbatim. In 1955, during the Eisenhower administration, newsreel and television cameras were allowed in presidential news conferences for the first time. When President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in Denver in September 1955, and underwent abdominal surgery the following year, Hagerty brought news to the nation in a calm and professional manner. "His performances in both crises won him more respect from newsmen than any presidential press secretary in memory", said a New York Times writer. Hagerty remained press secretary for eight years, still the record for longest time served in that position. Eisenhower grew to trust Hagerty to such a degree that the role of press secretary was elevated to that of a senior advisor to the president. == Evaluations ==

Michael J. Towle weighs four factors determining the success and popularity of all seven press secretaries 1953 to 1980. Experts generally agree that James C. Hagerty, under Eisenhower, set the standard by which later press secretaries are judged. Under Carter, Jody Powell followed the Hagerty model, and was also judged successful. For Towle the first factor is the importance and centrality of the press secretary to the administration. Insiders who participate in high-level decision-making do better at explaining policy; the press has less confidence in outsiders, Towle concludes. The second factor is how tightly the office is controlled by the president. The media pays more attention to secretaries who are allowed to elaborate, and expound on the president's thoughts, and answer probing questions. Third, does the president signal confidence in the press secretary. Fourth is the respect the secretary has won from the press in terms of knowledge, credibility, clarity, promptness and ability to provide information on a wide range of policies. Towle concludes that history had judged Hagerty and Salinger as successful. Lyndon Johnson confided in Salinger but distrusted the media and hobbled his next three press secretaries. Nixon throughout his career saw the press as the enemy, and the media responded in hostile fashion, leaving the young inexperienced Ronald Ziegler with a hopeless challenge. President Ford's first secretary was Jerald F. terHorst – he resigned in protest when Ford pardoned Nixon. Next came Ronald Nessen, who quickly acquired a reputation as inept, uninformed or noncredible, especially on foreign affairs. At the opposite extreme, the successful Jody Powell had been a close advisor to Carter for years, and could explain clearly how the president reasoned about issues. Carter said he "probably knows me better than anyone except my wife." == Responsibilities ==

speaks to reporters outside the White House in 2019. The press secretary is responsible for collecting information about actions and events within the president's administration and around the world, and interacting with the media, generally in a daily press briefing. The information includes items such as a summary of the president's schedule for the day, whom the president has seen, or had communication with and the official position of the administration on the news of the day. The press secretary traditionally also fields questions from the White House press corps in briefings and press conferences, which are generally televised, and "press gaggles", which are on-the-record briefings without video recording, although transcripts are usually made available. The position has often been filled by individuals from news media backgrounds: • Roosevelt administration – Stephen Early, a reporter for United Press International and correspondent for the Associated Press • Truman administration – Jonathan W. Daniels, a newspaper editor who was in the Franklin Roosevelt administration in multiple agencies and on various boards just prior to becoming press secretary; Charlie Ross, a journalist who received the Pulitzer Prize in 1932; Early; Joseph Short, a newspaper editor; and Roger Tubby, a reporter and editor turned Democratic National Committee spokesman before becoming White House press secretary • Eisenhower administration – James Hagerty, a reporter for The New York Times • Kennedy administration – Pierre Salinger, a reporter and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle • Johnson administration – appointed George Christian, a reporter for International News Service and PBS commentator Bill Moyers • Ford administration – appointed Jerald terHorst, a newspaper veteran; and Ron Nessen, an NBC News correspondent • Reagan administration – Larry Speakes, a newspaper editor; and Marlin Fitzwater, a newspaper editor • George H. W. Bush administration – Marlin Fitzwater • Obama administration – Jay Carney, Time journalist. • Trump administration – Kayleigh McEnany, Fox News Channel political commentator. • Biden administration – Jen Psaki, CNN political commentator. == List of press secretaries ==