White House media wary of press room makeover

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering kicking the Washington press corps out of the White House -- at least for a month or so.

The stuffy, packed, run-down White House briefing room has become something of a safety hazard over the years and may require a top-to-bottom renovation this summer, according to administration officials. President Bush, who sometimes holds news conferences in the room, recently made a personal pitch for a new, airier briefing room, taking some reporters by surprise.

''Listen, whoever thought about modernizing this room deserves a lot of credit," Bush said at the end of the news conference. ''Like, there's very little oxygen in here anymore. And so, for the sake of a healthy press corps and a healthy president, I'm going to end the press conference."

The renovation, which might begin in August, appears to be the brainchild of Joe Hagin, a deputy White House chief of staff who has broached the idea with at least one reporter.

If the administration moves forward, the dozens of reporters who work and virtually live in the cramped quarters will be relocated outside the White House, a scenario that doesn't sit well with some journalists concerned about long-term access to the president and administration officials. Temporary accommodations likely would be in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building nearby.

''I and a lot of other reporters would insist there be no diminution of either space or access," said Keith Koffler, a White House correspondent for Congress Daily. ''Basically, they can spruce up the place, but then we want to be right back where we were."

Although the briefing room might appear spacious and even glamorous to those watching at home, it is not. In a space no larger than a decent-size living room, 48 small theater-style chairs are crammed together.

The carpet is worn, and cameras, ladders, and other equipment are piled along two walls and in back. Reporters from the networks, wire services, and some of the larger newspapers have desks, small offices, and working spaces in an adjacent room and downstairs in a windowless basement. There is a small coffee room, with a few vending machines and restrooms.

One idea under consideration would be to wire the room for high-speed Internet access, which it lacks, and put microphones at each chair, which could help television viewers hear reporters' questions.