Warren G. Harding and the Press.

There are many parallels between the Richard M. Nixon administration and Warren G. Harding's term: both Republicans, both touched by scandal, and both having a unique relationship with the press. But in Harding's case the relationship was a positive one. One of Harding's first official acts as president was to restore the regular White House news conferences which had been dropped by Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Harding made himself available to the members of the press corps; he knew about their job, and he went out of his way to make their work easier. There were times of difficulty--during the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921 when Harding made a diplomatic slip of the tongue and in the summer of 1922 when a million men were idled in two bitter strikes. But for the most part, the president worked with correspondents on the basis of complete frankness and respect which was reciprocated. The friendship and goodwill between Harding and the press advanced the status of White House correspondents to the point where they could not be ignored by future presidents. (Author/RB)