Today the White House Correspondents’ Association released a

statement indicating that it will not call for any changes in the White

House press credentialing system in the wake of the Jeff Gannon matter. The

statement reads, in full:

“Since 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association has operated

independently of the White House and the White House credentialing process.

We intend for the White House Correspondents’ Association to remain

independent of that process.

“Consistent with the First Amendment, the White House Correspondents’

Association stands for inclusiveness in the credentialing process so that

the White House remains accessible to all journalists. We hope that

individual episodes do not obscure the broader principles of a fair and

evenhanded credentialing process that serves the goal of free and full

exchange of information.”

Some anti-Bush groups, among them David Brock’s Media Matters for

America, have called on the White House to limit access to press briefings.

White House correspondents have generally opposed such a move, and today

Correspondents’ Association president Ron Hutcheson (of Knight-Ridder

newspapers) told National Review that the organization also opposes any new

limits. “If we ever felt like [Bush press secretary Scott McClellan] or

anybody else at the White House was applying some sort of ideological

screen, we’d raise a stink,” Hutcheson said, adding that, “we’re not

proposing any changes.”