Press Conferences

Abstract

Press conferences are a dialectical communication practice between a group of journalists and a newsworthy individual. Press conferences serve as accountability forums for stakeholders, accessibility opportunities for official sources and journalists, and performative venues for strategic public relations. Press conference events occur in a variety of political and nonpolitical contexts, including planned interactions between journalists and the President of the United States, sports figures, and scientists. This entry reviews these official interactions while offering areas for future scholarship examining the form and content of press conferences.