“He will represent the government and the Prime Minister before an audience of millions on a daily basis, through the main transmission channels and social networks, and will have the opportunity to influence and shape public opinion,” says the job announcement.
Johnson wants to continue that.
“We believe that people want direct engagement and they want things from us, so let’s try it,” Johnson told LBC radio in early July. “I will show up from time to time, I have no doubts.”
Briefing or performance?
But in Washington, where daily briefings have been televised since 1995, those on either side of the podium have a caveat: Turning on the cameras will make Downing Street look more like the stage for Shakespeare’s Globe, the famous Elizabethan theater right next door. from the River Thames.
And for some, that’s a bad thing.
Mike McCurry, the Clinton White House press secretary who brought the briefings to television in 1995, is famous for his remorse for letting networks broadcast daily briefings in real time, and told CNN Business that they have become “a reality television event”.
Now he believes that the briefing should be embargoed until its conclusion.
“This requires journalists to record the briefing, test the information against other sources, perhaps extract comments from others, and then prepare reports that use what is really newsworthy,” McCurry said.
That is unlikely to happen in today’s live streaming world. Joe Lockhart, who took over as White House press secretary after McCurry, told CNN Business that he hopes both parties in London will treat the exercise as a theater.
“Downing Street is likely to bring in a television presenter (for the role of spokesperson) and I think journalists only by human nature, many of them will see it as a way to appear on television and get attention,” Lockhart said. . “It will not be a briefing per se but an act.”
On the podium journalists’ side, Caren Bohan, editor of USA Today in Washington and former president of the White House Correspondents Association, told CNN Business that televising Downing Street briefings will change the relationship between the press and the government. But she said he is “behind.”
“Most public officials are likely to be more cautious on camera than they would speak to cameraless reporters. They are more likely to get ‘talking points’ and less candid responses,” Bohan said. “That said, the more access there is, the better it will be for the press and the public.”
In London, the group of reporters covering Downing Street is known as The Lobby and they participate in two briefings with the Prime Minister’s spokespersons every day. Briefings are off camera, and spokespeople always identify as “a government spokesperson.” Even audio recording is not allowed.
And while many journalists in London are open to televised briefings, some are wary of their colleagues, some of whom are already “cheating on peacocks,” as a British newspaper political correspondent said, being swept away by theatricality. and increasing his egos by trying to train with government officials on national television.
“There is more merit in having a free and frank exchange between the press and the politicians, in light of the lights of television, than continuing with the semi-secret pantomime of the lobby,” he wrote.
Others worry that turning cameras on really reduces transparency. So far there have been few details about the exact format of the briefings and who will be able to participate.
The advice
Reporters should be ready for the government spokesman’s TV canned and made sound recordings, veteran Washington correspondents warned.
Ben Feller, a former White House chief correspondent for the Associated Press and now a partner at communications strategy firm Mercury, told CNN Business that daily briefings with the press secretary are viewed by most reporters as useless for gather new information.
But reporters have yet to “prepare adequately, get to the point, don’t respond to puns, follow up, and act as they normally would.”
As for the elected spokesperson, they will probably become the second most recognizable person in the UK government, with the Prime Minister being the first.
According to various reports, Downing Street is specifically looking to attract someone with a background in television journalism to fill the role. But Lockhart warned Downing Street not to “just hire a familiar face that can pretend.”
The best person for the job, he said, marries “presentation, politics and politics together,” Lockhart said.
McCurry also advised that the spokesman stay away from political deliberations and be a “fly on the wall.”
“Taking an active role in decision-making induces a certain reluctance for those ‘on the other side’ to share information with you and always wants to get ‘the best launch,'” he said.
Feller also warned that one of the first questions the spokesperson might face from the press is to define his purpose.
“Is your role to promote the government’s agenda and not respond to anything else, or is it your objective to do both: promote the agenda and be accountable and responsive to the press?” Feller said. “Those who hire should be ready to answer that question.”
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