White House reporters complain Obama is shutting them out

White House reporters criticized President Obama on
Wednesday for providing too little information and access to the media during
the crisis in Egypt.

In a letter to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, the
White House Correspondents’ Association said its reporters have been left in the
dark too often in recent days.

“Prior to the president’s statement Tuesday night, the press
corps had not received a substantive update from the White House all day on the
situation in Egypt,” the letter read. “In addition, the press corps did
not have an on-camera briefing, or an off-camera gaggle, with you yesterday to
ask the White House about its decision-making process during this major
foreign policy crisis.

{mosads}“Now for two straight days the full press pool is
being shut out of events that have typically been open and
provided opportunities try to ask the [president] a question.”

The letter also took issue with the White House’s decision
to only allow a small group of photographers into the Oval Office on Wednesday when
Obama signed the New START treaty.

“The START treaty was held up as one of the president’s most
important foreign policy priorities for almost a year dating back to the trip
to Prague last spring,” the letter said. “We are concerned that now his signing
of it is open to still photographers but closed to editorial, including print
and wire reporters and television cameras.”

Gibbs, who is preparing to leave his position this month,
responded at Wednesday’s daily briefing, saying that events in Egypt have been “fluid
and dynamic” and that has made updates difficult.

“We’ll continue to keep you up to date as best we can on
what goes on, knowing, quite honestly, that some things in foreign policy have
to be done away from TV cameras,” Gibbs said. “Those are the types of direct
and frank talks that the president had last night with President Mubarak.”

Gibbs defended the decision to allow only photographers into
the treaty signing Wednesday, saying those decisions are “part of the coverage
plans that have been in place for a bit now.”

He insisted that the decision to keep reporters out of the signing was based on fear of reporters shouting questions about Egypt to Obama.