Tribune White House correspondent Christi Parsons’ take on reporter-source relations
By: Madeline Happold
Before speaking with Christi Parsons, White House correspondent for Tribune Company, WBEZ reporter Dave McKinney gave me some insight he gleaned from his longtime friend – maintain relationships, they go far.
In Parsons’ case, these relationships followed her all the way from Illinois to Washington D.C.
White House correspondents cover a president for roughly four years, eight at most. Parsons has followed former President Barack Obama for over 20 years — from his beginnings in the Illinois Senate to his last days in the Oval Office.
“The papers I worked for kept putting me in position of covering him,” said Parsons. “That was the main thing, but I did seek it out.”
Perhaps Parsons is best known for her iconic final question during Obama’s last presidential press conference. Aware of their longtime relationship, the then-president gave Parsons a personal introduction, to which she shaped her final question with the same sentiments:
OBAMA: Christi is — I’ve been knowing her since Springfield, Illinois. When I was a state senator, she listened to what I had to say. So the least I can do is give her the last question as President of the United States. Go on.
PARSONS: My 217 number still works.
OBAMA: There you go. Go ahead.
PARSONS: Well, thank you, Mr. President. It has been an honor.
OBAMA: Thank you.
PARSONS: And I have a personal question for you, because I know how much you like this. The First Lady puts the stakes of the 2016 election in very personal terms in a speech that resonated across the country, and she really spoke the concerns of a lot of women, LGBT folks, people of color, many others. And so I wonder now how you and the First Lady are talking to your daughters about the meaning of this election and how you interpret it for yourself and for them.
This time, he didn’t shy away.
“When he called my name and then he said something personal I thought, ‘Oh wait, maybe this is an opportunity to ask a slightly more personal question,’” said Parsons. “It just sort of felt right in the moment itself. It felt like the poetic end.”
Fostering relationships with sources is an important tool for journalists. These sources not only provide helpful information and quotes for stories, but help journalists establish a reputation built on respect and trust.
“People appreciate it when you show a genuine interest and you are honestly trying to understand things and ask forthright questions,” said Parsons.
Parsons claims as a young reporter she was drawn to Obama as a source because he offered diversity in what she described as a “throwback” of an Illinois statehouse, sparse of women and people of color.
“He was a different story and that was why I pursued that reporter-source relationship all those years,” said Parsons.
Yet, Parsons makes one point clear.
“They’re not our friends, we’re not their friends,” said Parsons.
As the 2014-2015 president of the White House Correspondents Association, Parsons advocated for greater transparency between the presidency and the press, pushing for daily access to all business of the White House. She describes the relationship between reporters and sources, especially those in a position of power, as a constant push and pull.
“If it’s your job to hold public officials and public servants to the fire, holding the feet of those people to the fire, there’s nothing that’s worth trading the honest question and the pursuit of the answer,” said Parsons.
It’s a lonely title being the torchbearer for truth.
For young reporters starting in unfamiliar cities in a brand-new newsroom, source relationships prove vital. How do young journalists, just getting their foot in the door and learning the ropes, create these connections? Parsons advises “diligence and doggedness.”
“Knock on those doors, ask those honest questions, and remember who told you things that were meaningful,” said Parsons.
Now, Parsons is stepping back from the press room. She is currently on sabbatical, working on a personal memoir — how a Southern, white girl from Tuscaloosa found herself covering the nation’s first black president.
Perhaps the political really is personal.
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