Chuck Todd: Obama White House 'Very Controlling' Of Press Relations

Chuck Todd: White House 'Very Controlling' Of Press Relations

NBC News' Chuck Todd remarked on Friday's "Morning Joe" that the White House has been "very controlling" in its relations with the media.

Todd's comments came on the heels of New York Times editor Jill Abramson saying that the Obama White House is "the most secretive" she has ever covered. When asked to weigh in on the administration's relationship with the media, Todd said, "just very controlling, I mean, that's probably the best word to use, okay?"

He continued, "I get it, I think every White House wants to control their own message and they want to control access and they want to decide what is news and what is not. But it is amazing to me this White House does get obsessed when something, quote, unquote, 'leaks.' They seem to be sometimes more worried about 'Well, who did it, how did this get out?' Rather than dealing with the story itself."

Todd also speculated that the administration may believe that it is no more restrictive when it comes to press access than the Bush White House, and that its use of technology may contribute to its ability to evade the press.

"I feel like this is a White House that takes advantage of technology to go around the press in a way that we've never seen any other White House do — maybe that's because of technology, maybe it's not," Todd added.

The Obama administration has come under fire for its aggressive war on leaks — which journalists say has had a chilling effect on investigative journalism. "The reporters who work for the Times in Washington have told me many of their sources are petrified even to return calls," Abramson said last year. At the time, the administration was dealing with the fallout from a story revealing the Justice Department had been tracking Fox News reporter James Rosen.

More recently, journalists working with the White House also protested the administration's limits on photo access to the president.

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