There are unwritten rules that the White House press corps is forced to follow. Since other journalists are less constrained, they get less access.
In a Tuesday editorial, The San Francisco Chronicle lashed out at President Obama for what it called a failure of transparency. "The Obama White House's restrictions on media access to its fundraising events makes a mockery of its claim to be the most transparent administration in history," the newspaper insists. "If anything, there is almost a Nixonian quality to the level of control, paranoia -- and lack of credibility -- this White House has demonstrated on the issue of media access to President Obama's fundraisers. Bay Area reporters will not be allowed inside the W Hotel today when the president meets with hundreds of contributors paying $7,500 or more to attend."
What I found most interesting was the next line. "Only Washington-based journalists were allowed in the pool -- continuing a disturbing trend by this White House to severely limit access to fundraisers." Doug Mataconis gives useful background: earlier this year, an SF Chronicle reporter "was threatened with being 'blacklisted' from future pools because she had shot video during a pool event, which the White House claimed was an 'unwritten rule.' That video, you may recall, showed a group of protesters on behalf of Bradley Manning interrupting an Obama fundraiser earlier this year. After that incident, the White House started barring local reporters from pool coverage."