Page "White House Press Secretary" Paragraph 12

When Woodrow Wilson was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1910, he asked Joseph P. Tumulty to serve as his Private Secretary.

When he was elected President two years later, he brought Tumulty with him to the White House, where Tumulty served as Private Secretary to the President.

As Private Secretary, Tumulty dealt extensively with the press.

At the outset of the administration, Tumulty convinced Wilson, who was known for his distaste of the press, to hold news conferences on a regularized schedule, sometimes as much as twice every week.

During the first such news conference, over one hundred reporters crowded into Wilson's office to ask him questions.

Wilson often requested that reporters not publish answers given in these settings and on one occasion threatened to cancel the news conferences when a reporter revealed comments he had given regarding Mexico.

The press conferences were later discontinued after the sinking of British liner Lusitania, and despite attempts to revive them during his second term were held only sporadically during Wilson's final years in office.