W.H. denies threat to S.F. paper

Who do you believe?

The White House is denying that it threatened to exclude the San Francisco Chronicle from presidential events in its coverage area after one of its reporters recorded a video of singing protesters at a fundraiser last week that was restricted to print reporters.

When a group of 10 protesters interrupted President Obama to demand the release of the WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning, it was only matter of hours until the first video surfaced online. The group, which calls itself the “Fresh Juice Party,” had recorded footage, most likely from a cell phone camera, shot from the vantage point of its breakfast table at the high-dollar fundraiser.

But Chronicle reporter Carla Marinucci also took her own video, which she posted online with her article after the event. Now, the paper’s editor, Ward Bushee, claims that the White House has threatened to exclude the publication from local coverage because Marinucci broke pool guidelines.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told POLTICO on Friday that the Chronicle’s claims are “not true,” and that no such threat was ever made, but he wouldn’t provide further details.

The White House Correspondents’ Association board sets guidelines that govern Obama’s “pool” coverage, which includes restrictions on when written pool reports can be issued and when photos and videos are allowed.

However, those guidelines are silent on whether print reporters are allowed to take cell phone or video footage at events that are only for “print” reporters. In fact, according to the guidelines, “print poolers can snap pictures or take videos,” and aren’t responsible for sharing them with the rest of the press corps.

Marinucci told the Chronicle that she felt “obligated” to use the same tools that private citizens in the room were using to record the protest.

And because the White House chooses the local media outlets that are included in the “pool” during out-of-town trips, the correspondents association’s authority to police the actions of local media has been a murky subject.

Still, the association’s president, David Jackson, told POLITICO that the board would take up the issue with the White House next week and would seek to clarify the rules governing “print pool only” events — after the long-awaited White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday.