As journalists’ struggle for access to public information has become increasingly difficult, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Sally Buzbee has emerged as a leading advocate for more open government.
In remarks last fall to fellow news executives, echoed in a widely shared blog post entitled “8 Ways the Obama Administration is blocking information,” Buzbee outlined the ways the White House is impeding press access and the public’s right to know.
Buzbee will address the ongoing challenges to coverage, from an increase in handout photos to day-to-day intimidation, as well as what’s at stake and what to watch for in the coming year, in a discussion on Jan. 10, at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., in Washington.
Buzbee will join USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page for the candid discussion. “Inside Media: Press Access and the Obama White House” will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and is free with Newseum admission. Seating is on a space-available basis.
In her current role, Buzbee oversaw AP’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the New York Police Department’s surveillance of minority communities since the 9/11 terror attacks and helped lead AP’s response in 2013 to the U.S. Department of Justice’s secret seizure of AP phone records.
She previously held leadership positions for the news cooperative in Washington, the Middle East and New York. She was the news agency’s Middle East editor, based in Cairo, from 2004 to late 2009, supervising Iraq war coverage and managing news, staff and logistics in 16 countries stretching from Libya to Iran.
Prior to her assignment to Cairo, Buzbee served as assistant chief of bureau in Washington. She joined the AP in Topeka, Kansas, in 1988 and was a correspondent in San Diego before moving to Washington in 1995. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Contact
Paul Colford
Director of Media Relations
The Associated Press
212-621-1895
pcolford@ap.org
Erin Madigan White
Sr. Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
emadigan@ap.org