ABSTRACT

An important shift toward public relations came under President Barack Obama and his chief photographer Pete Souza. Souza seemed eager to become the nation's alpha White House photographer—the most prominent image maker in the history of the presidency. He also substantially limited the access of news photographers to presidential events, leaving news organizations with the choice of using his handouts or no photos at all. Farmer added that in an austere era of cuts in news budgets, he might have actually cost jobs for some photographers who did not get White House assignments because of his restrictive policies. As Donald Trump's presidency began in 2017, one of the counterweights to his brash approach to governing was Souza's photography from the previous eight years. Trump attacked news organizations as "the enemy of the American people". This included photojournalists, who felt distrusted and were excluded from important presidential moments.