Attorney General Eric Holder intended to meet with various media representatives in an off-the-record discussion about DOJ guidelines when handling leaks and the press.
However, the fact that Holder is demanding the meeting be "off-the-record" has irked many media outlets,who have refused the meeting.
From the AP (per CNN):
"If it is not on the record, AP will not attend and instead will offer our views on how the regulations should be updated in an open letter," said Erin Madigan White, the AP's media relations manager.
From The
New York Times:
"It isn't appropriate for us to attend an off-the-record meeting with the attorney general," executive editor Jill Abramson said in a statement.
From The
Huffington Post:
"A conversation specifically about the freedom of the press should be an open one. We have a responsibility not to betray that," [The Huffington Post's Washington bureau chief, Ryan] Grim, told CNN.
Indeed, not only is it not appropriate for journalists to attend an off-the-record meeting with the Attorney General, such a meeting specifically about freedom of the press should, by definition, be an open one.
Despite this, Politico and The Washington Post has agreed to attend.
Of course.