To: President Donald Trump
Demand Good Sound From White House Press Briefings!
We, the citizens of the United States, demand that all questions delivered to the POTUS and his staff during public press briefings be audible to the public, so that we can be informed as to exactly what questions are being responded to during those briefings, and to better understand the context of the response.
Why is this important?
Since the Trump Administration took office, press briefings have not been the same. Reporter's questions are often unheard, or are barely audible, leaving us to speculate as to what the POTUS and his staff are responding to. The decision NOT to broadcast the questions delivered by our press (or to use "lazy" sound reinforcement techniques) at these briefings is a detriment to democracy, as an uninformed electorate cannot vote responsibly, or form accurate opinions about the administration's policies, behaviors, and its relationship with the press. As an audio engineer, the author of this petition recognizes that there are many well-known techniques that can be used to broadcast the questions posed by the press at these events at a minimal cost to the taxpayer. Additionally, new acoustic management systems are currently available that make direct miking unnecessary. If restaurants, college classrooms, and corporate businesses have such systems at their disposal, anything short of using the best kind of audio technology would speak poorly of our nation's highest office. In short, let's have great sound coming out of the White House, regardless of who's voice we are listening too!