Obama Favors Interviews Over Impromptu Q&A’s, Study Finds

President Barack Obama grants many more media interviews than his predecessors, but holds far fewer impromptu question-and-answer sessions, according to data compiled by a professor who studies presidential interactions with the press. By doing so, President Obama and his administration have more control over who asks questions and where they are answered.

President Obama has been interviewed a total of 408 times in his first three years as president, according to Martha Kumar, a professor at Towson University who works alongside reporters at the White House. President George W. Bush had given 136 interviews at the same period in his presidency, and President Bill Clinton had given 166. However, President Obama has comparatively avoided Q&As with scrums of reporters, according to Kumar, answering questions at 94 photo opportunities and other such sessions in his first three years. President Bush had spoken at 307 such sessions after three years in office, and President Clinton, 493. He has held 17 solo news conferences, more than President Bush (11) in the same period, but fewer than President Clinton (31) and far fewer than President George H.W. Bush (56).