Evening star., 1954-01-07

Unit. DCTOuC u o VetGT0H WUSNIUV.
ton correspondent for the Christian
Science Monitor. His observations on
the use OF tape recorders at presi-
Dental press conferences tcere made
In an article for the NetD Republic.
The article Is reprinted In part NTH
the magazines pern,ission.)
HAVE BEEN attending Presidential
press conferences. man and boy, for
80 years. Recently q 20-year-old rule
against direct quotation was abolished.
tape-recording put on the air. think
this is mistake.
To begin with. the presidential press
conference is a vital part Of the Ameri-
can governmental system. Unlike other
democracies, the United States sepa-
rates executive and legislative functions
into compartments. Under the parlia-
mentary system the prime minister and
cabinet answer questions direct on the
floor Of Parliament: in the United
States the White House press confer
ence Is the substitute that has been
built up in the course Of time. Congress
can't ask Mr.. Eisenhower questions. so
the reporters do. The system was only
invented in the time Of Theodore Roose-
welt. but it is hard to see how the Gov
ernment would function today without
it. An intolerable stress and tension
would ultimately build up, believe. II
the Nation did not have some direct
access to the President in this form.
The situation requires a procedure
which is dignified, responsible and as
flexible as possible. The public needs to
know what is on the Presidents mind
and what his mood is; If the President
is wise, he will also find out what is on
the public's mind, and what its mood
is by the type of questions asked. There
Is no secret about this: 1t is two-way
proposition. James c. Hagerty, the able
White House press secretary. agrees
that the press conferences are fifty
fifty propositions on either side.
Accessibility to the Chief Executive,
as evolved by the modern press confer
ence, is a major defense against the
built-in danger Of our Constitution that
the White House will become a water
tight compartment, isolated from Con-
gress and from the man in the street.
The rules Of the press conference give
a strong President control at all times.
He sets the number Of conferences. he
sets their time and duration, he recog-
nizes the correspondents who put the
questions. he can answer them or not,
and he can do so in any form he desires.
He can say no comment"-a phrase
have not heard Mr.. Eisenhower use.
though it was frequent with Presidents
Roosevelt and Truman.
Direct quotation of limited portions
of White House press conferences has
been a regular tradition of these ses-
sionS for years. If President throws
off a vigorous phrase a reporter char
acteristically asks, May we quote you
on that, Mr.. President?" More often
than not permission is given. But it is
done after reflection. Otherwise the
Presidents answer is put in the third
person. or paraphrased. and the Chief
OF what he has informally thrown Of.
1t seems paradoxical for a news
paperman to oppose the fullest direct
quotation possible. But the new rule Of
verbatim recording and transmission
Of the Presidents conferences as
matter Of public record, I think. turns
what has been an extremely handy,
carefully evolved, semiofficial and
unique contrivance into a theatrical
performance. The press conference be-
comes a show. Its informal easy-going
nature Is changed into a self-conscious
half-hour broadcast. have been on
many question panels in "meet-the-
press" type shows. The atmosphere is
entirely different from that at the nor
NAL Washington press conference. It
would be good II this difference didn't
exist. but that would mean making
politicians and reporters into better
studio actors than they normally are.
The dazzle Of footlights gets into the
affair.
The President will no longer be able
to discuss delicate subjects with the
feedcm Of the past. 1t is true that Mr..
Eisenhower has never adopted quite
the same informal mood toward the
press that long line of politically
raised executives, Republicans and
Democrats. achieved. Perhaps only a
man used for years to a Governors
or Senator's Office knows the half
comradely, half-competitive relation
ship OF American reporter and public
figure. Herbert Hoover did not come
up through the political route, and his
snyneSs and embarrassment made 1t
doubly hard for him.
The decision to broadcast the White
House press conference is likely to
freeze and formalize the whole affair.
IL raises the question Of the role of Diff
ferent communication media in WASH
ington. Radio and TV are certainly
mere to stay. Reporters may be a little
uncomfortable to be made unpaid radio
performers in tape recordings that Off
Gals put out without their consent, but
That is secondary issue. The fact is
that Mr.. Eisenhower, like any President.
can get his words into the living room
by radio or TV any time he wants to
make a public speech: the question is
whether one important and established
publicity medium should be weakened
IN order to serve as a vehicle for an