If you've ever wondered who sits where, the White House Correspondents' Association last week unveiled an updated seating chart for the White House briefing room.
There are hundreds — maybe thousands — of reporters in Washington who cover the White House from time to time, but only 49 seats in the White House briefing room. And those seats are only slightly less coveted than the chair in the Oval Office just a few doors down the hall.
According to Gregory Korte at USAToday, where a reporter sits can determine how likely he or she is to ask a question. Major television networks and wire services occupy the front row and usually get to ask multiple questions every day. By tradition, the Associated Press — which sits front-row center — goes first.
After that, each row back makes a reporter less likely to get called on. (There are exceptions. Olivier Knox of Yahoo News gets frequent opportunities from the sixth row, as does Steven T. Dennis of Roll Call in the last row.)
At daily briefings, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest decides the order of questioning. When Obama has a news conference, the press secretary often gives him a card with a list of reporters to call on.
The newbies land in the fifth and seventh rows, and they have to share their seats: Al Jazeera shares with the Chicago Sun-Times, and BuzzFeed shares with Scripps.
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