On Thursday, several conservative podcasters were invited to the White House to participate in Podcast Row, an event meant to engage alternative media by granting them hours of unprecedented access to senior Trump Administration officials. The White House intends to make this a recurring event.

“Bringing in new media outlets has obviously been a priority of this administration and we will explore all options that allow us to reach as many Americans as possible,” Kaelan Dorr, White House Deputy Communications Director, told The Verge.

According to NewsNation correspondent Libbey Dean, administration attendees included Cabinet and Cabinet-level officials Lee Zeldin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Linda McMahon, Scott Bessent, Russ Vought, as well as outgoing Counselor Alina Habba, who was recently tapped to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Online figures streaming from the room included Natalie Winters from Bannon’s War Room, Canadian YouTuber David Freiheit, and podcaster Breanna Morello.

Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House, the new administration has made a point of engaging what they refer to as new media – predominantly right-wing podcasters, streamers, and other online influencers – with the point of spreading their message to loyal audiences who are more than willing to listen to them for hours at a time. Back in January, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that one seat in the Brady Briefing Room would be dedicated to correspondents from non-legacy “new media outlets,” who could apply for a credential to attend press briefings. Over 10,000 people applied, according to a subsequent statement. While unusual, it was only one rotating seat for the entire world of right-wing podcasters and more — the Podcast Row event is a significant step forward in expanding their access and proximity to the Trump White House.

The event also served as a jab at the Washington press corps, who have become a piñata for the Trump administration. In recent months, they’ve revoked the Associated Press’s press credentials after the wire service did not change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the AP suing the White House. The White House also announced that they would handpick outlets in the traveling press pool. Podcast Row is, implicitly, the next step in boxing them out. “I bet you that the people in that room have more views than CNN and legacy media,” Leavitt said in an X video touting the event, adding: ”Just saying.”