Media

Psaki says she considers herself a journalist

Jen Psaki and Ben Smith speak on stage during the Semafor Media Summit on April 10, 2023 in New York City.

Former White House Press Secretary turned-MNSBC host Jen Psaki says she considers herself a journalist — albeit in a different media ecosystem than the one she worked with a top press aide for President Biden.

“Journalism has changed dramatically. Semafor is an example of that,” Psaki said during a brief interview at the news startup Semafor’s Media Summit on Monday. “And even when I was in the White House, working in government, it really was already all on a spectrum.”

“It wasn’t just the New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, and then everything else wasn’t considered part of journalism,” she added.

Psaki said the modern-day media encompasses “a big, broad scope of things.”

“And so to me, journalism is providing information to the public, helping make things clearer, explaining things,” she said. “So I think there is a broad expansion of what that is.”

Psaki debuted a new weekend news and analysis program earlier this month, notching more than a million viewers during her first episode.


She is the latest in a string of White House press officials to sign lucrative contracts with media companies, including George Stephanopoulos, Dana Perino, Alyssa Farah Griffin and others.

Media