Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-13
N Press Conferences
Take Leader to People
Writer Suys Eisenhower Coins
By Just Being Himself
By Frank R. Kent

"'tSt SoIS 6tSeHUUWSt SotHS
By Just Being Himself
By Fronk R. Kent
The ironical thing about the tele-
Vising Of the White House press con.
ferences is that the persons who seem
most dissatisfied with the innovation
are the Washington newspaper CORE
spondents themselves - particularly
those Of New and Fair Dealish per-
suasion. who for years have beaten
their breasts about broadening" these
conferences. 1t has been their conten-
ton that the President owes it to the
people to keep them as fully informed
as possible and that the press con-
ference is the most direct and effective
way OF disseminating the facts-which
certainly is true.
Undoubtedly television has vastly
broadened the conferences. It is esti-
mated that not more than q few hun
dred thousand people ever read the
questions and answers on these occa.
sions. which only one or two news
papers regularly print in full. Tele-
vision means that more than Is million
see and hear practically everything
said. If this does not meet the demand
for breadth and directneSs, 1t Is hard
to say what would. Yet, are the corre-
spondents happy about It? They do
not seem so. One of the most out
standing Of these when asked how the
reporters as a whole felt about the
televised conference said: well, think
It can truthfully be said that we seem
10 nave been caught in the wheels
OF progress and have reluctantly ac-
cepted it."
In brief, now that they have it they
do not like it. For this there are sew
eral reasons. One, of course, is that
teieVlslon Of the conference was not
an idea that originated with the cor
respondents. The networks them
selves conceived 1t, pushed it and got
away with 1t. The correspondents
were In no position to oppose-and
would not Of their own accord have
brought 1t up. But when 1t was
brought up, the President was In no
position, even II he had desired. to
oppose 1t. either. Having opened his
conferences to all accredited news
papermen and the radio commentators.
he could not very we'll refuse the
television applicants, provided they
could devise plan that would not
disrupt the conferences and would be
reasonable. This, they seem to have
done-though by no means perfectly
zone. A necessary rule for the pro-
tectlon OF the President was agreed
TO by which the White House press
secretary is able to eliminate any part
OF the Presidents pronouncements
which seems desirable.
Everybody agreed to this necessity
though there was-and still is-some
apprehension that it might be used
10 establish White House censorship.
however there seems no ground for
such fear. Not only is there no desire
al the White House to exert any CEN
sorsnlp put there is complete apprecia-
tlon that any such exercise would be
exceedingly stupid For it is clear that
anything OF that kind would be quickly
detected by the newspapermen, who
are fundamentally opposed to censors.
no matter how exalted They swiftly
would expose any White House censor
ship. At once it would be denounced
as intended to deceive the American
people and thus become news. In other
words. any use Of White House power
TO eliminate or suppress any part of
the conference record containing actual
news clearly would be the surest way
OF giving such news maximum pub
llcity-wen calculated to damage the
administration.
Another reason Democratic poll
tlcians, including various Democratic
presidential aspirants and their Jour-
nallstlc friends, take dim view of the
televised conference is that they feel
II aHords a fine opportunity for Gen.
Ike to promote himself and. per-
maps, disseminate certain administra-
ton propaganda. 1t is true that Mr..
EISENHOWER has an engaging per-
sonalty and the more he can bring 1t
10 bear upon the public the better for
MIN. 1t is also true that the oppor-
tunity which television affords him to
present his views personally is, in a
way, propaganda. Even without tele-
vision the conference presents an OBJ
portunity for the President to do that.
Certainly both the late Mr.. Roose-
welt and Mr.. Truman used 1t pretty
effectively for that purpose. But there
came no protest about that from either
their Journalistic or political friends.
So far Gen. like" has not changed
his technique since television took
over. He is just being himself. and
some disappointment is voiced among
his supporters that he does not make
more of the propaganda opportunities
he now has. Perhaps later on he will
rise to them, but at the moment the
demand Of some Democratic politicians
that they be given equal time" by the
networks and that like" refrain from
boosting" himself seems somewhat
silly.