Some members of the Washington press corps were unhappy with the new Obama administration on Wednesday when news photographers were denied access to the Oval Office. Traditionally, the major news agencies have been allowed to take pictures of the new President in the office on his first day at work.
Three agencies refused to distribute a photo taken by White House photographer Pete Souza. It was distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service, which is partly owned by the McClatchy Co., owner of The News & Observer. We rarely print White House photos. After a discussion of this particular situation, we opted to use the photo because we believed our readers would want to see President Barack Obama in his office on his first day at work. The photo is clearly labeled and the context explained.
The press, and most importantly the public, also had reasons to be pleased with the administration on Wednesday. One of the Obama administration's first acts was to issue a memo to all federal government department heads and agencies directed them to comply with both the letter and the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. That move was in contrast to the Bush Administration, which kept a tight grip on information.
The memo reads in part that the law "should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The government should not keep information confidentially merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears."
Linda Williams
