to understand how president-elect donald j. trump <u+2019>s spontaneous meal this week at the <u+201c>21<u+201d> club, the manhattan nightspot, could turn into a flash point on the future of american journalism, it<u+2019>s best to start with what the news media already knows about its future charge. since election day, mr. trump has refused to let reporters accompany him to the white house, accused the media of inciting protests and tweeted accusations that the new york times fabricated stories about his transition. as a candidate, he vilified journalists by name and blacklisted news outlets that displeased him. so when mr. trump ducked out to dinner tuesday night without informing the journalists assigned to cover him, it struck white house reporters as a small but significant omen that cordial relations between the president and his press corps, a hallmark of the west wing, were under threat. is it a big deal if a president goes to dinner and the press doesn<u+2019>t know? in a word, yes, according to former administration officials, journalists and a group of press advocacy organizations that issued an open letter to mr. trump on wednesday arguing that americans <u+201c>deserve to know what the president is doing.<u+201d> <u+201c>the country is well served by having a press who is there and can keep a check on any president,<u+201d> said ari fleischer, who as george w. bush<u+2019>s longtime press secretary often clashed with journalists. <u+201c>even on sept. 11, we recognized the important need for the country of having a pool travel with the president.<u+201d> the broader idea, advocates argue, is that the president<u+2019>s whereabouts ought to be recorded <u+2014> for public reassurance and the historical record, and so the president has reporters nearby to quickly communicate with the public in a crisis. and if mr. trump rejects the decades-old practice of the <u+201c>pool,<u+201d> where journalists follow the president even to the most banal engagements, will he adhere to other traditions such as news conferences and press briefings that are meant to inform the public about matters of greater import, but are not mandated by law? <u+201c>my friends who cover the white house say that the obama administration was probably the most closed administration that they have ever tried to cover,<u+201d> said sally quinn, the longtime chronicler of washington media and society. <u+201c>they ain<u+2019>t seen nothing yet.<u+201d> the challenge now for the washington press corps may be convincing the broader public that these decades-old protocols still matter even in an age of instant communication tools like twitter that bypass traditional news outlets, and in the face of a groundswell of public skepticism toward the establishment press, whose supposed coziness with the white house was one of mr. trump<u+2019>s favorite talking points at rallies. rebecca katz, a democratic strategist who has led press strategy for senator harry reid of nevada and mayor bill de blasio of new york, said that news organizations risked creating a <u+201c>boy who cries wolf<u+201d> problem if journalists did not justify why access mattered. <u+201c>the media must make clear that an informed press makes an informed public,<u+201d> ms. katz said. <u+201c>the establishment needs to figure out a way to communicate with regular people about what<u+2019>s important.<u+201d> mr. trump<u+2019>s press team has told reporters that it expects to arrange a traditional pool as early as next week, attributing recent hiccups to the hectic transition period. on wednesday, jason miller, a spokesman for mr. trump, conceded that the unannounced <u+201c>21<u+201d> visit <u+201c>was an example where there could have been a little bit better communication.<u+201d> but, mr. miller added, <u+201c>for some in the media, unless they<u+2019>re actually sitting at the table, seeing if he<u+2019>s getting the chicken or the fish, they will never be happy.<u+201d> that argument seems to resonate with some trump supporters who are inclined to view white house journalists as abetting establishment politicians, rather than holding them to account. <u+201c>i think his base would like nothing more than to see him take on the press, and say, <u+2018>i don<u+2019>t care what you think. i<u+2019>m going to do whatever i want to do,<u+2019><u+201d> ms. quinn said. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s been a winning strategy up until now.<u+201d> during the campaign, mr. trump ignored established protocols such as letting reporters travel on his plane. at rallies, journalists were mostly relegated to <u+201c>press pens,<u+201d> and television networks agreed to the campaign<u+2019>s instructions on where to position their cameras. in ritual-driven washington, seemingly mundane variations on presidential customs can make waves: barack obama<u+2019>s decision in 2009 to skip the gridiron club dinner, an annual black-tie gathering of journalists, made headlines. mr. obama has also drawn criticism for his end runs around the white house press corps, opting for venues like a web show with the comedian zach galifianakis, over tougher-minded interviews. ana marie cox, who skewered the washington establishment on her blog wonkette, said that journalists who overly relied on access might be prompted to do better reporting if mr. trump tried to ice them out. <u+201c>i hope there<u+2019>s a massive revolt within the washington press corps,<u+201d> ms. cox said, <u+201c>and people refuse to play by the rules that they played by in the past.<u+201d> bill clinton<u+2019>s former press secretary, mike mccurry, suggested that the pooling arrangement could use a revamp. <u+201c>i think having a bunch of talented journalists sitting around a country club sipping arnold palmers while the president plays golf is an utter waste of time,<u+201d> mr. mccurry told politico on wednesday , referring to the pool that accompanies the president to golf outings. white house aides, however, are not the most trustworthy narrators of what the president is doing day to day. and history is filled with events where journalists served as important eyewitnesses for the public. pool reporters were on hand when ronald reagan was shot outside a washington hotel in 1981, and the same with john f. kennedy<u+2019>s motorcade in dallas. journalists were also with george w. bush in a florida school when the world trade center was attacked in 2001, and later accompanied him onto air force one . <u+201c>you do not want a president uncovered if something like 9/11 happens,<u+201d> said george condon, a correspondent for the national journalwho has covered the white house since 1982 and has led the white house correspondents<u+2019> association. <u+201c>the country needs to know where the president is, and how he<u+2019>s doing, and how he reacted.<u+201d> <u+201c>i know presidents chafe at it,<u+201d> mr. condon said of the scrutiny from the press. but, he added, <u+201c>presidents who think they can reinvent it, who think that they don<u+2019>t have to do things like that, and are so flush with their own victory, almost always <u+2014> and in fact i can<u+2019>t think of any exceptions <u+2014> regret it.<u+201d> sydney ember contributed reporting. a version of this article appears in print on november 17, 2016, on page a20 of the new york edition with the headline: presidential press pool may be a ritual under threat. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
ritual of ever-present coverage may not pass muster with trump
michael m. grynbaum