Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / White House vs. Press - TPR's In Focus - Sept. 25, 2026

Transcript

White House vs. Press - TPR's In Focus - Sept. 25, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park on
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  the main campus of Troy University, featuring the International
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  Arts Center, the Fred Noll Hollis Museum,
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  and the Hua Bao Zhu Gallery. More information at troy.edu/artspark.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is the
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  News Wrap from In Focus, and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  Todd Stacy, host of Alabama Public Television's
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  Capitol Journal discusses the ongoing dispute
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  over press coverage of the White House. And the Wild Card
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  is helping wildlife babies.
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  Todd, right now there's a lot of back and forth between the
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  administration and the courts about press access
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  to White House press conferences. What's this all about?
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  White House press restrictions. They have banned
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  news outlets from covering the White House. CNN, MS Now—
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  that used to be MSNBC— and Politico have been barred
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  from even entering the building. These outlets filed suit,
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  and a federal judge said no, you cannot ban the
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  press. There's a constitutional amendment about that. It's the very first one,
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  and yet the White House is still denying entry for these reporters.
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  The White House has gone back and forth trying to explain why. Obviously it's
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  about the president not liking the coverage from these outlets,
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  and now they're actually talking about it's a risk to national security, which is
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  just ridiculous. Even the Obama White House barred
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  Fox News from some events, and all the
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  major television outlets have said, we're not going to allow this,
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  we're not going to cover the White House, we're not going to participate in the
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  pool feed. As long as you're banning our colleagues. And so it's concerning,
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  but it also is heartening to see all news outlets
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  left, right, and center say, no, no, no, we're in solidarity with our colleagues.
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  You have to restore their access. So there is some silver lining
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  to this bad story. These press conferences are actually a
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  two-way street. Not only are we hearing from
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  the administration, but reporters can reflect
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  the concerns of the American people.
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  Well, and that's exactly what has happened. One great example,
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  and everybody probably knows the name Kaitlan Collins. She's from Prattville. That's where I grew
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  up too. She's the lead anchor for CNN. They went to the UN
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  where the president was delivering a speech, so they were invited in.
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  The president had some snarky things to say about that,
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  but the question she was asking was, look, the American people,
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  according to a recent poll, think that we're not faring well.
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  This Iran war. I think a lot of us have doubts about
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  what's going on in the Middle East and our involvement there, its impact on gas
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  prices and the economy. Kaitlan Collins doing her job,
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  trying to get answers from the president about a very concerning issue.
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  Can news outlets be tough on administrations? Absolutely.
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  That's their job. But that's the price you pay for being in public
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  office. We have the freedom of the press for a reason. It's the White House's
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  obligation to live up to that. I think they're going to find out from the
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  courts that they have to. Well, Todd, who's on Capitol Journal tonight?
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  So we're going to have both party chairmen from the Republican Party.
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  That's State Representative Scott Stadhagen, and then from
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  the Democratic Party, State Senator Bobby Singleton. But we're obviously getting towards November,
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  these critical elections. But what I'm really excited about, we're also
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  going to be featuring Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report.
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  With Amy Walter. You've seen her on PBS NewsHour.
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  I hope you'll tune in to see that. That brings us to the
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  wild card. It's out of Mississippi. This is Raccoon Boot
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  Camp. I'll just read what the AP said from Pass Christian, Mississippi.
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  Muddy, sweat-soaked, and occasionally bloody, the dedicated staff
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  at a Mississippi wildlife center are drill sergeants. And their soldiers?
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  Baby raccoons. Welcome to Raccoon Boot
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  Camp, where the goal is to help Sick or injured animals learn to survive in
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  the South Mississippi wilderness, a skill set they would have learned from their mothers,
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  most of whom died or were separated from their kits by storms,
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  traffic accidents, or traumatic events. So, raccoon boot camp.
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  Too cute indeed. Well, Todd, in order to bring public
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  media to the public, what's involved? It's so important to
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  support your public broadcasting. It is ours. It belongs to
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  all of us. By contributing, you're showing support
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  and saying, look, I'm part of this. Carolyn, we had a board meeting the
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  other day, and I had a viewer come in. They had a check for $25.
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  It kind of got me emotional because this viewer felt
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  so strongly about what we were doing at public television that, that she wanted
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  to donate what little resources she had. That speaks to the
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  generosity and the sense of ownership of our viewers and listeners.
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  Let's let her example speak for all of us and be generous in
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  supporting public broadcasting. It's a touching story. And Todd,
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  thank you so much for being with us here at Troy Public Radio
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  from Alabama Public Television's Capitol Journal. Always glad to do
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  it. Thanks,