A number of folks have written in to ask why the exchange between Helen Thomas and Scott McClellan reported yesterday on TPM doesn’t appear in the press briefing transcript at the White House website or in the televised version on CSPAN.
Simple.
There are actually two press briefings at the White House each day. Both are on the record. But a public transcript is prepared for the second (and posted on the White House website); and it’s televised on CSPAN. Neither is done for the first. Because of that difference, the first — which usually takes place between 9 and 10 am — is often more contentious and free-wheeling than the second, which takes place just after noon.
In most cases, when I report these exchanges on TPM, they come from the early morning briefing, the “gaggle”.
