Pool Journalism

Pool journalism is a term describing several types of arrangements used by government officials to provide for broad media coverage of events that, for various reasons, can only be covered by a limited number of journalists. Pool arrangements are most commonly used when the number of journalists interested in covering an event is greater than the space available for accommodating them, as sometimes happens in coverage of the presidency. Under these circumstances, news organizations enter into voluntary pool arrangements in which a small number of journalists are deputized by their peers to cover the event on behalf of a large number of news organizations. These “pool” journalists cover the event on the condition that they share their notes, images, and news copy with all interested journalists unable to cover the event directly.