Overview
The White House Press Secretary or a deputy generally holds a weekday news briefing, which takes place in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. The room currently seats 49 reporters. Each seat is assigned to one news gathering organization, with the most prominent occupying the first two rows. Reporters who don't have an assigned seat may stand. Often a smaller group of reporters known as the White House press pool is assembled to report back to their colleagues on events where the venue would make open coverage logistically difficult.
When a new U.S. president is elected, some news organizations change their correspondents, most often to the reporter who had been assigned to cover the new president during the preceding campaign. For example, after the 2008 presidential campaign, ABC News moved Jake Tapper, who had covered Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, to the White House correspondent's position.
Some White House correspondents have come under criticism for not challenging the people they cover more directly and thereby shirking their Fourth Estate responsibility. A common criticism of the White House is that the top reporters are given priority access to the Press Secretary and are allowed follow-up questions, while those in the back rows are rarely called on.
Read more about this topic: White House Press Corps