New York Times Slams Biden’s Lack of Media Access in Blistering Statement: Tension between President and Paper Reaches Boiling Point over Interviews Snub
In an unprecedented move, The New York Times has released a scathing statement criticizing President Joe Biden for his lack of media access during his first term. In the statement, published on Tuesday, the newspaper accused Biden of actively avoiding questions from independent journalists and called it “troubling” that he had granted fewer press conferences and interviews than most of his predecessors since becoming president in January 2021.
The Times went further to say that this lack of media access was not only undermining an important norm but also establishing a dangerous precedent for future presidents, who could potentially avoid scrutiny by doing the same thing. The paper’s publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, has reportedly confronted Vice President Kamala Harris over Biden’s decision to avoid interviews with major newspapers, including his own. When pressed about it, according to Politico Magazine reports on Tuesday night, she advised him “to get in touch” with the White House press office and later grumbled that their conversation was a waste of time for her team.
The Times noted how meetings between its publisher, Mr. Sulzberger and administration officials such as Vice President Harris revealed mounting tension regarding Biden’s refusal to grant interviews or hold formal news conferences with major newspapers like The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN among others that millions of Americans rely on for accurate information about their government.
The paper also claimed in its statement that some members within the White House believed that “the importance of 2024 [election] should not be downplayed.” Biden has so far refused interviews with major outlets such as The Times, Post and Journal, making only selective appearances on television shows. He appeared recently on Seth Meyers’ show in March while joining Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes on their “SmartLess” podcast during the same month to talk about his presidency so far.
The White House reportedly believes that major outlets such as The New York Times distort democratic beliefs and have a misguided effort at controlling its coverage by snubbing Biden’s interview requests, according to Politico Magazine reports on Tuesday night. However, some members of the newspaper believe this is merely an attempt to control their reporting rather than acknowledge that they “give credit where it’s due” despite what some people close to President Joe Biden think about them as being too liberal or overly critical towards his administration’s actions in recent times.”
Biden’s team, however, maintains its stance by highlighting the fact that during former president Donald Trump’s term in office, many members of The New York Times staff became increasingly hostile to him and other Republican leaders. As a result, older journalists at the paper reportedly believe that this has distorted democratic beliefs surrounding journalism while some younger reporters have expressed concerns about how their newspaper seems less supportive or friendly towards Democratic leadership under President Biden’s watch compared with former president Barack Obama’s administration in 2016-20.
In response to the White House’s allegations that they distort democratic beliefs, The New York Times stated: “We believe it is our mission—imprinted on our walls by previous generations of journalists and instilled anew every day by our current staff —to provide the public with full, fair and contextual reporting.”
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