Dan Lothian, center, talks with Paul Faulkner, left, and Diana Faulkner after speaking Monday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Paul Faulkner was Lothian’s choral teacher at Tennessee Temple University.Promises of transparency and free-flowing information that President Barack Obama made when he took office are falling flat, former CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian told an audience of college students Monday.
Further, the administration’s perceived lockdown on communication has become a road map for government secrecy across the nation and, Lothian said, it will be up to upcoming journalists to hold government accountable.
Lothian was the first of a series of guest lecturers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He shared stories about the start of his journalism career as a reporter with WDEF News 12 here reporting on Erlanger Health System’s first helicopter, up to his five-year stint reporting in the Obama White House.
“People assume as White House correspondents we have plenty of access to the president,” Lothian said. “No matter how much access we get, it’s never enough.”
Lothian told students seeking jobs in communication or media that jockeying for access to officials and information will be an everyday struggle, as more and more government agencies are requiring information to come through spokespeople, restricting access to expert staff members and taking steps to control messages.