Press fear Obama private swearing in

Press fear Obama private swearing in.(Politico). By Dylan Byers. The White House Correspondents Association is strongly urging the Obama administration to allow press access to the president’s official swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20, following indications from inauguration committee officials that the event could potentially be closed to the press.“Mindful of the historic nature of this occasion, we expect the White House will continue the long tradition of opening the President’s official swearing-in to full press access, and we as an organization are looking forward to working with the administration to make that happen,” Ed Henry, the Fox News correspondent and president of the White House Correspondents Association, said in a statement.
The White House press corps acknowledges that nothing is set in stone. But even the possibility of a closed-press inauguration has stirred up immense frustration among the White House press corps, who note that past Sunday inaugurations were open to press.
“Call me shell-shocked. I’m stunned that this is even an issue; it boggles the mind,” NBC News White House correspondent Chuck Todd told POLITICO. “This is not their oath, this is the constitutional oath. It’s not for them. It’s for the public, the citizens of the United Sates. It just boggles the mind — How is this even a debate?”
Minutes from this week’s WHCA meeting noted “strong sentiment that the entire press pool must witness the moment.”
“We are urging the White House to reconsider any preliminary plans they have at the moment to keep this as a closed event,” C-SPAN Political Editor Steve Scully told POLITICO. “This is a historic event and it should be chronicled by news organizations. At a minimum, it should be a pooled event.”
The last time a president was inaugurated on a Sunday was in 1985. Reagan’s White House allowed complete news coverage of the private ceremony, including three reporters, three still photographers, and one network television pool camera, according to a Los Angeles Times report from the time. ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN carried live broadcasts of the event.
President Obama’s “second inauguration” in 2009 was not so public. Though Jan. 20 did not fall on a Sunday four years ago, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and President Obama stumbled through the public swearing-in and had to hold a second, private swearing-in the following day. White House aides initially told reporters there would be no second swearing-in, but changed their mind at the last minute. Only four reporters were allowed to attend. Rather than let photographers or television cameras in, the White House provided a photo from the White House photographer.
Despite promising to be the most transparent administration in history, full press access was not provided at the dawn of Obama’s first term.Hmmmm......'Kings don't mingle with paupers'?Read the full story here.