The White House Correspondents’ Association has issued a revised seating chart for the White House briefing room that includes a permanent seat for The Daily Wire, as the organization said it is accounting for changes in the digital media landscape.
On Wednesday, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) unveiled a redesigned seating chart for the White House briefing room, granting The Daily Wire a permanent seat, according to a report published by The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire said it was among a handful of outlets receiving seats in the revamped arrangement. The outlet also reported that Semafor, Axios and NOTUS were among the other organizations newly awarded seats, while some outlets—including The Daily Beast and BuzzFeed—had seats taken away.
In its letter to members of the White House press corps, the WHCA said the revised chart reflects the emerging digital media landscape, including newsletters, The Daily Wire reported. The outlet also noted that space in the briefing room is limited and that reporters without assigned seats often stand in the aisles for long stretches during briefings.
The Daily Wire attributed its new seat to its expanded White House coverage over the past year. The outlet said Mary Margaret Olohan became its first White House correspondent just over a year ago, after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and that the organization later opened a Washington bureau in May and added more reporters.
The Daily Wire cited several recent examples of Olohan’s reporting and on-the-ground presence, including an Oval Office exchange in which she raised a new Department of Homeland Security push to deploy body cameras for federal immigration officers. Separate reporting by The Washington Post has described DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announcing body cameras for immigration officers in Minneapolis, with the policy expected to expand as funding allows.
The WHCA did not immediately provide additional public details in the materials reviewed about how the new seats were allocated beyond its stated goal of reflecting changes in how audiences consume news.
