“We’re not operating any differently than other White House offices have operated except that the Internet exists,” Carney said. “And the White House posts some pictures on the Internet identified as official White House photographs. So the fundamental difference here is distribution.”

Obama does give more one-on-one interviews than his recent predecessors, but he avoids the impromptu give-and-take that many presidents routinely engaged in on a near-daily basis with beat reporters. This irritates those who cover the White House day-in, day-out since it means less fodder for stories about the news of the day.

“Every president has their own style,” Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer said on MSNBC recently. “We used to let the press come in and they fire four, five questions at a time. President Obama is a different style and much more sit-down.”

But the White House press strategy can produce delays in getting the president’s message or response to events into the national news.