President George W. Bush’s administration has held press conferences more frequently than his recent predecessors did. This administration also is known for joint press conferences with national political leaders and with foreign heads of state and government. In a press conference of February 22, 2001, Bush in formed journalists, “One of my missions has been to change the tone here in the nation’s capital to encourage civil discourse.” Indeed, press conferences provide a forum for dialogue between the president and the public.

As a general category of media strategy, press conferences involve the communication of news about an individual or organization to the mass media and specialized media outlets. The objective is favorable news coverage of the sponsor’s actions and events. Since the mid-20th century, most press conferences have centered on the orchestrated use of television, although various print and broadcast media outlets usually are invited to attend. According to Jerry Hendrix, press con ferences are classified as uncontrolled media. Thus, with press conferences, media decision makers become the target audience members. These gatekeepers then determine what information to communicate to the public.

Professionals generally agree that, as a public relations tool, press conferences should be used sparingly, reserved for circumstances that truly are newsworthy. Such occasions often call for a personal presentation by the organization’s chief executive officer, a celebrity, a dignitary, or similarly positioned person. In the general realm of business affairs, some organizations have used press conferences to announce the introduction of major corporate changes such as new product lines, takeovers, or mergers. Press conferences also have been used to organize and manage information in crisis situations or to respond to accusations of wrongdoing.

Although in the business sector press conferences are not viewed as a routine means of public relations, major government agencies employ them on a more regular basis. Indeed, press conferences are a principal component of political communications. Politicians rely on them as a way of providing important information to the public and shaping public opinion. For correspondents, they serve as a means of obtaining such in formation and examining the opinion-shaping process.

In the United States the press and politicians have traditionally enjoyed an adversarial relationship. Even as political press conferences are used to provide information to the public, the goal for the politician is persuasion or news management. Thus, the political figure wants to control the release of information. Conversely, the press relies on such conferences as a means for ensuring that the politician is held accountable for his or her policies and actions. Media outlets also rely on press conferences as a way of obtaining new information so it can be released as quickly as possible.

Even prior to television, press conferences were essential in the United States to communications between the executive branch of government and the public. According to Carolyn Smith, Theodore Roosevelt was one of the first U.S. presidents to use the press as a frequent means of communicating with the public. Although he did not hold formal press conferences in their contemporary sense, he realized that the media could be used to shape public opinion and established close relationships with journalists. Woodrow Wilson was the first president to hold regular and formal press conferences. Not only did he view the press as a means of influencing public opinion, but he also believed that communication via the press was a chief duty of democratic leaders.

Although presidents are not bound by law to hold them, presidential press conferences have become somewhat institutionalized. As Smith contends, a sense of “public contract has evolved to such a degree that the general occasion of the press conference cannot be avoided with political impunity.” Since the Wilson administration, all presidents have held formal press conferences. However, the decision to grant a press conference is always made by the White House, not by the media, and press conferences have varied in frequency and format with each administration.

Not surprisingly, presidents are most likely to hold press conferences when the conferences serve their best advantage. Ultimately, the president can control the time, place, and setting for a press conference. To some extent, they also control the participants. In the contemporary era, journalists at presidential press conferences have traditionally included representatives of ABC, CBS, and NBC, the wire services, national newsmagazines; and national newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. They also usually include a selection of reporters from other news organizations, such as regional newspapers or news syndicates, who may be more likely to pose questions the president will find favorable.

In general, press conferences often are criticized for their theatrical nature. However, for individuals, organizations, and government branches, press conferences serve an important public relations function. They are an effective means of organizing and disseminating newsworthy in formation to the public.