Gary Pruitt discusses the American media landscape during the years of the Obama presidency, during which time he was chairman, president, and CEO of the McClatchy Company, and, from 2012, CEO of the Associated Press (AP). Pruitt outlines the state of American local print journalism in the years prior to the 2008 financial crisis, and describes how the advertising-driven commercial model of many ne wspapers struggled to recover in the aftermath of the crisis, as advertising spending remained below pre-crisis levels. He also describes the uniqueness of AP's commercial model, how the rise of digital media impacted the newspaper industry, and AP's diversification of its content in response to market pressures. Pruitt provides details about his encounters with the Obama administration, including those that took place in the aftermath of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) seizure of AP phone records as part of a leak investigation, which impacted AP's sources and journalists, but also led to the strengthening of DOJ rules surrounding leak investigations and the prosecution of journalists. Also discussed are the Obama 2008 campaign and Obama White House's press relations, relations between major national newspapers and the federal government on national security reporting, the opening of AP bureaus in North Korea and Myanmar, and AP's compilation of national vote counts on election days, including AP's coordination with federal agencies to monitor the security of the 2016 election
Presidents--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Election security--United States; Digital media; Leaks (Disclosure of information)--Law and legislation--United States; Pruitt, Gary; Obama, Barack; Associated Press
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
47 pages
Note (Biographical)
Gary Pruitt served as president and CEO of the Associated Press (AP) from 2012 until his departure in early 2022. Prior to his tenure as president, Pruitt served on AP's board of directors, and as chairman, president, and CEO of the newspaper publishi ng company McClatchy
Note
Interviewed by Julius Wilson on April 19, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Gary Pruitt, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022