Democracy Dies in Darkness

The White House’s new press briefing seat chart says a lot about where each reporter stands

February 2, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST
Fox News White House Reporter Peter Doocy raises his hand to question White House press secretary Jen Psaki, left, at a news briefing at the White House in Washington on Jan. 26. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The Daily Mail is in. BuzzFeed and Breitbart are out.

The conservative Catholic EWTN network is in, and so is the LGBTQ-friendly Washington Blade. But the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune and the Russian Tass news agency won’t get seats in the White House briefing room.

The White House Correspondents’ Association has laid out new seating assignments for reporters who attend daily briefings and news conferences. It’s the first time since 2017 that the journalists’ organization, which controls the 49 press seats in the cramped James S. Brady Briefing Room, has rejiggered who sits where, or doesn’t sit anywhere at all.