Reporters Give Gibbs / Obama Mixed Reviews

Robert Gibbs gave White House reporters a "strong A" Friday for their work over the first 100 days of the new administration.

Their report card on him is more mixed.

Although White House reporters praise some aspects of Obama's press shop, there’s grumbling about Gibbs' handling of the daily press briefings, where a handful of television correspondents dominate; griping about press management on the president's European trip; and complaints about Gibbs' tendency not to return e-mail messages.

And for a team that rode to Washington on a lot of talk about "transparency," reporters said in interviews with POLITICO this week that the Obama White House has been awfully opaque.

"I guess it depends what your definition of the word 'transparent' is," said Chuck Todd, chief White House correspondent for NBC News.

Adds Wall Street Journal White House reporter Jonathan Weisman: "I think by the press' definition, they have not been transparent at all." - Politico Story