At press conferences, it is important that journalists gather the information they seek in an orderly manner. Whether it be a sport’s conference, or a politician’s conference, in a press conference, journalists are to raise their hands and wait to be called upon, before asking questions of the person who has granted the press conference. While this may seem obvious, there may be a time where a particualr journalist is ignored and therefore has a legitimate need to dispute that. But, generally a journalist must raise his or hand and wait to be called upon and not speak out of turn. It is clear that press is competitive with each other, and the profession often calls for tenacity that many other professions do not require.

Donald Trump was right however, to assert yesterday at his press conference, that speaking out of turn was not going to be tolerated. It is natural for a journalist to be eager to be called upon, so that he or she can write his or her piece, but equally important, is hearing the questions and answers that others in the room engage in and such a conference should not be a free-for-all where cross-talk occurs. That is why note-taking is sometimes more important than even getting the answer to a specific question. Generally what was effective for you as a student in a classroom, applies in a press conference just the same.