Fox News gets front row White House seatBy Michael Calderone - August 1, 2010
The White House Correspondents Association is moving Fox News up to the front row in the briefing room,
according to sources familiar with the process. The WHCA board's decision was unanimous.
Since veteran journalist Helen Thomas retired, three news organizations, Fox News, Bloomberg News, and NPR
have argued that they should move to the front row. Fox News will join the broadcast networks and CNN up
front.
However, Fox News will not be taking Thomas's long-held seat in the center.
The Associated Press moves to the center under the new set-up, with Fox News taking the wire service's spot
in the front row.
The idea of moving the AP which normally gets the first question at presidential press conferences was under
discussion in recent years, long before Thomas retired. Bloomberg remains in the second row, while NPR moves
up from the third row to Fox's current seat.
Several news organizations also petitioned to get regular seats in the briefing room (or keep their current seats).
The Financial Times will now get a regular seat, while U.S News & World Report a news organization that has been
scaled back in recent years lost its seat. The foreign press pool also now gets its own seat.
In addition, Politico and American Urban Radio Networks moved up to the third row. The Washington Times,
which has cut back significantly in the past year, moves from the third to fourth row.
UPDATE: The WHCA, in a statement, confirmed the news and described the decision as "very difficult."
However, the board said it was "persuaded by Fox's length of service and commitment to the White House television pool."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100801/pl_yblog_upshot/fox-news-gets-front-row-white-house-seat
