A role with no rules

The White House press secretary is one of the most important public-facing jobs in any administration, yet it has no job description, no required qualifications and no vetting by Congress.

Two jobs at once

Press secretaries must be the president's voice on policy issues daily and have access to the president's thinking. They also answer to the American people and must be honest with them.

“You have to know what the president's thinking about, whatever the policy issue is, but you also are accountable to the American people.”

Zacharia's five-day tenure

Katie Zacharia was fired last week after just five days in the job.She faced scrutiny over her first briefing, where she was visibly nervous, took only a handful of questions and stuck to talking points.

The credential that cost her the job

Zacharia described herself as a lawyer during her briefing. It was eventually revealed that she had failed the California bar exam, meaning she was not an attorney. She was out five days after starting.

A century of tradition

For nearly one hundred years since the rise of a modern press corps, there has been a person designated to speak on behalf of the sitting U.S.president.

The hardest part of the job

Since Akerson, thirty-seven people have held the role. Former press secretary Ari Fleischer under George W. Bush said a briefing is like intellectual chess, and the hardest part is knowing what not to say.

“A briefing is like intellectual chess.”