New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen writes about what he thinks the Bush administration should do to improve the flow of information to the public. One of the items he proposes is a "Bloggers Briefing" for "stand-alone" and citizen journalists.
If he’s a believer, Tony Snow should be taking Bush’s case to the world, and seeking opportunities to make that case. That means more briefings. Not cutting back but building on.Snow is the head of an operation. That operation includes able assistants. There are extremely competent people across the government, outside of Snow’s office, who in their areas of knowledge can also brief the press, answer critics, and bring policy to life.
I’d go with two-person teams: one briefer pulled from the government itself (someone in the line of duty for the United States) and the other a deputy press secretary working for Snow. Here’s a schedule I drew up:
8:00 AM… Televised Briefing in Arabic (For journalists from the Muslim world and the Arabic speaking press. You make the evening news in Cairo and Baghdad that night, and the newspapers the next day.)
9:00 AM… Press Gaggle (On the record, audio-cast, not televised, transcripts by noon; this event exists now.)
10:00 AM… Bloggers Briefing. (It’s like a gaggle for stand alone and citizen journalists who self-publish. Same rules.)
11:00 AM… Q and A with the International Press (With a daily briefing open to all, more foreign news providers will send a person to Washington. Televised, in English.)
12:30 PM… The White House Daily Briefing (Televised, the way it is now. Mainly the American news media, and major foreign providers.)
3:00 PM… All-Faith Briefing. (For the religious press worldwide, same rules as the gaggle.)
4:00 PM… Today in the Global War on Terror. (On the record, audio-cast. Talks about progress and obstacles.)
5:00 PM… The Closer. (An update to all of the above with revisions, clarifications, corrections.)
