1. Trivia Quiz

1.22. The Presidents Meet the Press.

Identify the following United States Presidents:

1. He established the first White House Press Room.

2. He started the first modern press conference.

3. He invented a Dunce Cap Club, to which he would banish reporters whose questions annoyed him during press conferences.

4. He moved the press conferences from the Oval Office to the Indian Treaty Room in the Executive Office Building to make room for more reporters.

5. He held the first tape recorded news conference.

6. He held the first filmed news conference.

7. He held the first “live” televised news conference.

8. He covered over the White House swimming pool to create new luxurious quarters for the press corps.

9. His press secretary died at his desk as he prepared to answer reporters’ questions.

10. In his last press conference he declared: “This kind of new conference where reporters can ask any question they can dream up--directly of the President of the United States--illustrates how strong and how vital our democracy is. There is no other country in the world where the chief of state submits to such unlimited questioning . . .”
 

Section 1.22 ANSWERS

ANSWERS to Section 1.22.

1.22. The Presidents Meet the Press

Identify the following United States Presidents:

1. He established the first White House Press Room. Theodore Roosevelt, because, it is said, that he saw reporters standing out in the rain in front of the White House. [POL 461]

2. He started the first modern press conference. Woodrow Wilson. [POL 461] [first to hold a press conference]

3. He invented a Dunce Cap Club, to which he would banish reporters whose questions annoyed him during press conferences. Franklin D. Roosevelt [POL 459].

4. He moved the press conferences from the Oval Office to the Indian Treaty Room in the Executive Office Building to make room for more reporters. Harry Truman [POL 462] Lyndon Johnson had some conferences back in the Oval Office, but they were very crowded. [POL 464]

5. He held the first tape recorded news conference. Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 16, 1953. [POL 463]

6. He held the first filmed news conference. Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 19, 1955. It was edited by the new secretary and shown on television. [POL 463]

7. He held the first “live” televised news conference. John F. Kennedy on January 25,1961 [POL 463]

8. He covered over the White House swimming pool to create new luxurious quarters for the press corps. Richard Nixon, April 1970. [POL 342] Later, friends of president Ford had another pool dug on the White House lawn.

9. His press secretary died at his desk as he prepared to answer reporters’ questions. It was Harry Truman’s press secretary and life long friend Charles Ross. [EPT 171-172]

10. In his last press conference he declared: “This kind of news conference where reporters can ask any question they can dream up--directly of the President of the United States--illustrates how strong and how vital our democracy is. There is no other country in the world where the chief of state submits to such unlimited questioning . . .”. Harry Truman [POL 493]