President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning significant changes to the White House Brady Press Briefing Room, aiming to diminish the influence of legacy media outlets while creating opportunities for non-traditional platforms like podcasts and internet-based news organizations.
This idea gained traction following comments from Donald Trump Jr. during a conversation with Michael Knowles.
Knowles inquired whether Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was considering reordering the seating chart in the press briefing room, potentially displacing some legacy media outlets.
“I literally had this conversation with — I was flying back, I was on the plane with my father, I think it was coming back from the SpaceX launch with Elon [Musk] last week. And we were talking about the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you,” Trump Jr. said, according to Breitbart.
He added that his father responded positively, saying, “‘That’s a great idea, Don.’ … So that may be something in the works.”
The Brady Press Briefing Room accommodates only 49 credentialed members of the press, with seating determined by the independent White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA).
While the White House itself grants press credentials, it is the WHCA