Russia's state news service applies for White House pass
By HADAS GOLD 03/24/17 06:30 PM EDT
The Russian state-owned news website Sputnik has applied for a White House hard pass and is seeking membership in the White House Foreign Press Group in order to become a part of pool rotations.
Sputnik, which Foreign Policy magazine described as the "BuzzFeed of propaganda," would be part of a rotating group of roughly 22 overseas outlets following President Donald Trump in his everyday interactions along with pool reporters from American print, TV, and radio outlets.
Andrew Feinberg, Sputnik’s White House correspondent, has been in talks with the WHFPG head Philip Crowther, who told POLITICO that if Feinberg and Sputnik complete the boilerplate criteria for being a member of the press group, there "shouldn't be any reason" they wouldn't join the White House press pool.
Among the criteria to become a WHFPG member is a White House-approved hard pass, membership in the White House Correspondents’ Association, and State Department verification that the network is, indeed, based in another country. Other state-sponsored outlets are part of the rotating foreign pool, including Crowther’s France 24 and China’s CCTV.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/03/sputnik-news-white-house-press-pass-russia-236481?cmpid=sf