If the Prez Travels, Should the Media Follow?

THE MEDIA USED TO TRAVEL with the president of the United States wherever the president went. To maintain objectivity, they paid for their flights - whether it was on Air Force One or a chartered flight.

Now, in the era of media outlets trimming their expenses, fewer journalists are accompanying the president.

Is that something to worry about? Are we unlikely to see and hear more perspectives, angles and ideas? Is having fewer people to challenge the authority figures a danger to democracy?

Or is cutting back on these trips a wise move? Rather than travel on every little venture, the media companies choose which will be the most important?

Does anyone care what the president says on the airplane?