Journalist Aggressiveness in Joint Versus Solo Presidential Press Conferences

Increasingly, presidential press conferences are being held with a foreign dignitary present. This study used content analysis of solo and joint press conferences to test the likelihood of journalists to act in an adversarial manner when in either situation. It was found that journalists were much more likely to act in an adversarial manner in solo press conferences. This provides a possible reason solo presidential press conferences are becoming rare and has implications for the watchdog role of the press.