The Office of the Press Secretary

Abstract

The Press Office gathers and disseminates official White House information on behalf of the president. The Press Secretary, who heads the operation, has three constituents to respond to, but one boss to whom he or she reports: the president. His constituents are the president, the White House staff, and news organizations. The Press Secretary has four principal roles: information conduit, constituent representation, administration, and communications planning. In carrying out its tasks, the office is organized into a two‐tiered West Wing operation divided among the Upper Press and Lower Press and a unit located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Tasks relating to the daily gathering and distribution of information are centered in the West Wing while the operations in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, most especially Media Affairs in the Clinton White House, are focused on contacts with specialty and out‐of‐town press.