For many students studying public relations or political communication, the position of White House Press Secretary represents one of the highest positions attainable in their careers.
On April 17, former White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer, who served under former President George W. Bush, and Mike McCurry, who served under former President Bill Clinton, visited the Manship School of Mass Communication to discuss their experiences and impart their wisdom to students.
In an interview with The Daily Reveille, Fleischer said he encourages students to find the good in politics and political campaigns, since too often it’s about “fighting for a win.”
“It’s such a rapidly changing business, but at the core of it is public service,” Fleischer said. “So, as much as there can be cynicism around political communication, I would hope that people are able to elevate and find the good things about government and politics.”
When asked about being press secretaries during times of crisis, McCurry told The Daily Reveille his president’s crisis was “zestier than most.”
“I’m probably more envious of Ari,” McCurry said. “He got to be press secretary at such a formidable moment of challenge, and I got to deal with a sex scandal.”
McCurry said he thinks the scandal with activist and then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky would’ve gone “supernova” had Twitter been around in the 1990s. He added that he didn’t think Clinton’s presidency would’ve survived, and what saved him was his popularity and the good state of the economy.
At 6 p.m. McCurry and Fleischer joined Manship School students Kayla Swanson, Matt Houston and a packed house of attendees for a Q&A about the “role of the press secretary.”
The men shared stories of their time in the White House and reflected upon today’s media landscape.
“I’d liken the job to being a human piñata,” McCurry said. “The press corps just kind of whacks at you to see if anything will spill out.”
Fleischer said one of the difficult parts of the job was staying politically neutral.
“You take a shot at a reporter, or a shot at somebody else in public life, and it feels good from the podium for a little bit, but it doesn’t have much of an afterlife,” Fleischer said. “You have to be aware of how much power you have standing at that podium representing the President of the United States and the White House.”
Though both speakers joked about the difficulty of the job, they were quick to highlight the great aspects of it, as well. Fleischer reflected on his response to 9/11 saying he didn’t intentionally mean to help people feel calmer, but he was proud that he did.
The speakers then discussed the role of the press secretary in the modern media landscape, in which the president can address the American people through Twitter instantly. Fleischer said the modern press secretary remains “essential” in order to further the “back-and-forth” discussion between the White House and the media.
Overall, Fleischer was critical of the bias of White House reporters and the news media in general. He encouraged students who may one day fill that position to “be neutral” and learn to be “seekers of facts and truth” rather than analysts. Fleischer added that he could not currently recommend an entirely neutral media outlet.
Mass communication freshman Sarah Procopio said she enjoyed the event and found it helpful because she hopes to one day be involved in politics.
“Both of them had really tough jobs, so for them to come here and enumerate all of the successes and failures was really eye-opening and informative as someone who wants to get involved in politics or media,” Procopio said.
Manship Professor and future Dean of the Manship School Martin Johnson said he was excited by the level of attendance at the event, and praised the two student interviewers on their “fantastic” roles.
After the event, McCurry offered some final thoughts on the role of press secretary.
“It is both an honor and fun working at the White House,” McCurry said. “Very few people get the privilege of working in the White House with the president, and along with that goes some incredible experiences that are a lot of fun too.”
Abbie Shull contributed to this report.
Former White House press secretaries Mike McCurry and Ari Fleischer speak in the Holliday Forum at the Manship School of Mass Communication on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.
