President Trump is adding Skype seats to expand White House press reach

It’s not a secret that President Trump has butted heads with a few of the news organizations. The issue has been one that the recently inaugurated has been quite vocal about. Now, he and his administration are intending to change the “fake news” with more diverse exposure (via The Verge.)

Today, Press Secretary Sean Spicer stood up in front of the usual group of journalists during the press briefing and announced that the White House would be expanding its invitations. With the power of Microsoft’s conference calling software, Skype, President Trump’s administration hopes to reach out to journalists that aren’t directly in the Washington, DC area.

“This will open up the briefing to journalists who live beyond 50 miles of the Washington, DC area and to organizations that don’t currently have a day pass,” Spicer said. “As always, any organization is welcome to apply for a day pass. But we’re excited to open up into the field and fold here a diverse group of journalists from around the country who may not have the convenience or funding to travel to Washington. I think this can benefit us all by giving a platform to voices that are not necessarily based here in the beltway.”

In changing how the press accesses news, it seems Spicer feels that it will change the overall perception of President Trump and White House, instead of always being “negative” and “demoralizing”.

The change is expected to begin ‘later this week ‘according to the briefing, adding in four Skype systems to enable the conferences. No further information is known about how it will be implemented and who will be invited to attend through Skype at this time.