The White House is usually quite good at keeping a muzzle on the media after one of its off-the-record sessions with President Obama and senior members of his administration. But not this week.A group of black bloggers and journalists from outlets like Essence and BET were invited to the White House on Monday for a half-day of policy briefings by the president's advisers. The White House provided the journalists with an agenda that spelled out the ground rules: the first half of their briefings was to be on background, meaning they could report any information they learned but not attribute it to any specific official; the second half was off the record entirely.Still, that did not stop bloggers from writing about the event and, in one case, posting a video of the president's remarks to the group.
Insert your favorite line from "The Poundcake Speech," "The Ballot or the Bullet," Ice Cube or Chris Rock.
Can't have an off-the-record convo. Why? Cause bloggers are videoing the president...
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues. He is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, Between the World and Me, and We Were Eight Years in Power.