Obama uses local TV to make sequester case

0

Barack Obama
It’s not so much that the White House is by-passing the White House press corps or the representatives from national media that cover Washington. But with the battle over upcoming sequester budget cuts careening toward the deadline, he is using local television to take his case to the public.


According to the White House calendar, the president has set aside time on the afternoon of 2/20/13 to speak with local anchors at local broadcast television stations in eight markets.

The event is being called simply “Live from the White House.”

On the list of markets:
* Boston MA
* Charleston SC
* Baltimore MD
* Oklahoma City OK
* Wichita KS
* San Antonio TX
* San Francisco CA
* Honolulu HI

The announcement specifically states that it is otherwise “closed to the press.” Participating stations will also have to hold their reports off air until no earlier than 5:00PM eastern on the day of the interviews.

Reuters noted that many of the markets on this list have a strong US military presence. Military spending is among the budget items that will receive major cuts if Congress does not act to avoid sequestration.