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In 1999, I had a great trip to Germany as part of a series organized by the German Government. They took U.S. reporters there, and took German reporters to the U.S. as a media cultural exchange.
One of the many things I learned is that in Germany, reporters are expected to provide politicians an advance list of the questions they will ask.
I wrote about a U.S. version of that requirement in 2010:
When I visited Germany for a RIAS Fellowship in 1999, I was amazed to find the officials I interviewed expected a list of my questions in advance. Huh? That was the last thing I would do in the U.S.
In a Montgomery Advertiser story earlier this month, business writer Cosby Woodruff freely admitted agreeing to that condition in an interview he did with the then-new heads of Colonial Bank. The interview happened after founder Bobby Lowder resigned. He wrote:
"There were conditions, such as submitting questions in writing in advance so that lawyers could review them, but nothing that was a deal-breaker."
Here in 2021, the same issue has now popped up in the new Joe Biden Administration. After four years of DT branding reporters "enemies of the people", reporters are being treated with respect again...but according to a story in The Daily Beast, some are being asked what questions they'll be asking. The White House response:
“Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for both reporters and the public,” a White House spokesperson said. “Part of meeting that objective means regularly engaging with the reporters who will be in the briefing room to understand how the White House can be most helpful in getting them the information they need. That two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people updated about how government is serving them.”Whatever. We don't do that here in America, not in 1999, and not now, no matter who is President.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki will just have to broaden her reading & watching habits.
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