Pack Protocol

Keeping reporters in place

White House news conferences have long been governed by a Darwinian law: survival of the loudest. To get the President's attention, reporters shouted and waved like unruly kindergartners.

But at President Reagan's first press conference last week, the normally obstreperous pack was suddenly tame.

The turnabout resulted from new ground rules laid down by White House Press Secretary James Brady. Reporters would please stay seated and raise their hands to ask questions; anyone shouting at the President would be ignored. Said Brady: "I'm asking you to join us in an effort to restore confidence, dignity and decorum to this institution."

For his part, the President made every effort to be fair to the well-behaved horde, calling on reporters from small newspapers, such as the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times, as well as major news organizations (NBC and CBS each got in two questions). "I know I've been staying down front here too much," he said at one point, referring to the heavyweight correspondents nearest him. "I've got to prove I can look at the back rows." Accustomed to more combative Chief Executives, the hard-boiled Washington reporters seemed disarmed by Reagan's cheery sincerity and grandfatherly style. He addressed many of the female correspondents as "young lady"--even longtime CBS White House Correspondent Lesley Stahl--and called some veteran campaign reporters by their first names. The journalists responded with unfailing politeness; Jeremiah O'Leary of the Washington Star even gently corrected the President when he said "Mediterranean" instead of "Caribbean." One correspondent did manage to break the sound barrier, but charmingly; Californian Reagan could not resist calling on a Spanish-speaking correspondent who shouted "!por favor!" Reagan left many questions unanswered, but most of the reporters accepted his explanation: "I've only been here nine days."

Some reporters missed the excitement of the old mike-to-mike combat with Richard Nixon, or the crisp pace of Jimmy Carter's minilectures. But most agreed with NBC Correspondent Roger Mudd, who expressed relief that reporters would no longer spring "from the half crouch exploding into a full gainer with shout" to get the President's attention. At week's end Brady announced two other changes: Reagan will hold occasional informal sessions with journalists beginning this week, and, as an experiment, questioners at his next formal press conference will be chosen by lottery.

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