President Obama finds virtual end-around to bypass the White House press

President Barack Obama is finding ways to get his message to the public without going through the White House press corps.

On Jan 30, he held his “first completely virtual interview” as part of an event hosted by Google+, the social network the President called “a newfangled thing.” The President joined a so-called “hangout”— a chat room of sorts on the social networking site — and took questions through YouTube on everything from unemployment to streamlining the federal government. The event took place in the White House’s Roosevelt Room without the presence of television cameras or reporters. The virtual interview is part of a larger effort by the White House to connect directly to Americans without going through the news media.