Presidential Press-Conference Schedules: Who Hides, and When?

Variations in approaches to key routines reveal important differences both between presidents and in the evolution of the modern presidency. As Hugh Heclo correctly observes, crisis events have received a disproportionate amount of attention by presidential scholars.' For Richard Neustadt, schedules take on a specific importance as one of the traditional constraints on presidents-and a constraint that was substantially reduced in the 1960s.2 A president and his staff feeling unconstrained by any necessity for fixed schedules can rather easily, as in the Johnson presidency, fall in to a "chicken little" syndrome in which frenzied White House activities replace more structured routines. Important questions can be asked regarding the scheduling of press conferences as one aspect of presidential routines. Do some presidents tend more than others to hide from press conferences during difficult situations, such as a Cuban missile crisis or urban riots? Do all presidents, or some more than others, seek to avoid interaction with the press as their popularity undergoes a major slide in the polls? Have some presidents simply stuck to their schedules regardless of events? Historically, has the creation of press conferences as primarily televised events altered their regularity in use? Both individual