For 30 years, Jon Decker has patrolled the halls of the White House, looking to break the biggest stories inside the world’s most famous residence.
But, like most aspects of life, there have been some dramatic changes in those 30 years, he admits.
“When I started at the White House in November 1995, there was no Instagram, no Twitter or X, no Facebook. There wasn’t social media of any kind. That’s a big change that we see in the current White House press corps that uses those social media tools every day on every story.”
“The other big change is just the entities — the news organizations — that cover the White House. When I started in 1995, believe it or not, there wasn’t even Fox News at the time. Or FOX Business. Or Politico. So there have been tremendous changes in terms of the news organizations that cover the White House. I’ve seen an enormous number of new organizations — from the left and from the right — over the course of just the past decade.”
One of the things that hasn’t changed about working at the White House? Just because there’s an instantaneous way to disseminate information doesn’t mean the pace has changed.
However, the people being reported on inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have those same methods of distribution at their fingertips.
“Not only do journalists use those tools. The White House uses those tools, and they can change the focus of a news cycle instantaneously through the use of social media,” Decker said. “We’ve seen President Trump do this over the course of the time that he served as president, both in his first term and now in the second term as well.”
In his 30 years covering the White House, Jon Decker has worked with 17 different White House Press Secretaries. Establishing relationships with all of them has been a key to landing big stories.
“It’s about relationships,” Decker said. “That means that I’ve had to build relationships with 17 different people over the course of the past 30 years, and that’s a skill set that I think I’m good at. It’s a skill set that has served me well. But it’s important to remember that the nature of every White House is different. You can’t have the same approach with every White House.”
On Thursday, Decker was honored by H.E. Urban Ahlin, the Ambassador of Sweden to the United States, with a reception to celebrate his 30th anniversary working at the White House. Traditional Swedish music, food, and cocktails were served at the nation’s Embassy in Decker’s honor.
That followed a letter penned by President Donald Trump stating that the longtime reporter is “well-respected by all of your colleagues, and that is the most important praise of all,” concluding by stating that Jon Decker “is not fake news.”
Decker — who works for both Gray Television and iHeartMedia at the White House — said that the recognition from the President is reaffirming due to the challenges that face those working the beat.
“It’s always challenging, the beat itself,” he shared. “You have to be an expert — on any given day — on domestic policy, on foreign policy, on economic policy, and on politics, as well. Not everybody is an expert in all of those different fields, but you need to become an expert if you’re gonna do the job well.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He joined Barrett Media after a decade leading several radio brands, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.