<P> The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, or members of the media usually stationed at the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the President of the United States, White House events, and news briefings . Their offices are located in the West Wing . </P> <P> The White House Press Secretary or a deputy generally holds a weekday news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room . The room currently seats 49 reporters . Each seat is assigned to a news gathering organization, with the most prominent organizations occupying the first two rows . Reporters who do not have an assigned seat may stand . Often a smaller group of reporters known as the "White House press pool" is assembled to report back to their colleagues on events where the venue would make open coverage logistically difficult . </P> <P> When a new U.S. president is elected, some news organizations change their correspondents, most often to the reporter who had been assigned to cover the new president during the preceding campaign . For example, after the 2008 presidential campaign, ABC News moved Jake Tapper, who had covered Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, to the White House correspondent's position . </P>

Who sits in the front row at the white house press briefing