White House: A Chance To Start Over
The following Editorial appeared in the January 2011 issue of News Photographer magazine.
President Barack Obama’s photographer, Pete Souza, has always had our respect. He’s been one of us for many years. As a teacher he was one of the students’ favorites at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. His work at the Chicago Tribune was exemplary. Forging a relationship with a young and rising Senator from Illinois was a smart move on the photojournalist’s part, and Souza’s experience as President Ronald W. Reagan’s photographer during Reagan’s second term gave Souza a keen understanding not only of how politics works, but also of where the rising Democratic Party’s star’s trajectory could land Souza once again – in an Oval Office with the world’s most famous address on Pennsylvania Avenue.
But things got off on the wrong foot, almost from the beginning, when the only picture available of the “re-do” of Obama taking the oath of office from U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts for a second time was an official handout by Souza. On just the second day of Obama’s administration, the White House closed a historic moment to press photographers. Getty Images distributed the picture, but Reuters and the Associated Press refused to do so and many newspapers did not publish it.
Now, though, we have a chance for a “re-do” of our own involving a situation that’s only gotten worse.
The administration, or more accurately former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, realized they could easily close events to the White House photo pool and instead put Souza’s handout photos on their public Flickr feed. By doing so, they could make Souza look like the bad guy. Then they tried to brush off press complaints by basically saying, “Hey, you all like Pete and admire his work, he’s a great journalist, what’s the big deal?”
They knew what the big deal was. The bottom line is they knew what they wanted, image control, and they were willing to throw Souza under the bus in order to get it. NPPA, the White House Press Photographers Association, the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and others complained to a White House deaf ear. Then an unfortunately poorly worded and terse complaint letter from one of the organizations seemed to be the last straw that alienated Emanuel and Gibbs and closed their minds to changing their ways. And that was that.
Well now it’s a new day. Emanuel has gone back to Chicago to run for mayor and make new enemies, and Gibbs is abandoning the Briefing Room podium for his new role as one of Obama’s advisors. William Daley is Obama’s new Chief of Staff, and the search goes on for a new Press Secretary. So this is a great opportunity for a “re-do,” only this time it can be a “re-do” that doesn’t shut out the photographers. It’s a chance to start over. It’s a chance to fix this administration’s bad policy.
Don’t let this chance pass by without trying. We urge you to reach out – politely this time, please – with letters or phone calls. Independent photojournalists need access to our country’s history and its leaders, not handouts.
Download an Acrobat .PDF of this editorial here.
NPPA Marketplace
- Insure Your Equipment
- You go where the action is….so should your insurance! Hays delivers comprehensive insurance for your gear - covering cameras, computers, editing equipment and rental.
- Join the NPPA
- NPPA members receive a wide range of benefits, from educational opportunities to mentoring, exclusive discounts, insurance options, business tips, and much more.