Reporter hailed as hero after broadcasting off-camera press briefing in defiance of White House rules

Ms Sanders has been taking the most recent briefings

(Getty)

A reporter who founded her own news site and appointed herself its chief White House correspondent, has emerged as hero among the Washington Press corps after defying Donald Trump by live streaming a media briefing.

For several months, Mr Trump’s communications team has been at war with reporters about what were once daily news briefings. Under the Trump administration, the briefings have become irregular, frequently farcical and often not allowed to be filmed, or even for a live audio feed to operate. At one point, CNN sent a sketch artist normally retained for the court room, to underscore the idiocy.

Yet Ksenija Pavlovic, a former political science teaching fellow at Yale who founded a news site called Pavlovic Today, found herself something of a journalistic celebrity when she used the Periscope app to stream audio of Wednesday’s briefing by deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The Huffington Post said the sound quality of the recordings was poor, but Ms Sanders could be heard introducing Marc Short, the director of legislative affairs, before taking questions from the floor.

Ms Pavlovic’s tweeted two streams. The first drew 37 listeners; the second attracted 41.

Ms Pavlovic’s enterprise followed weeks of angry complaints from members of the White House press corps about the restrictions that had been imposed since White House press secretary Sean Spicer decided to shake things up because he believed too many television reporters were using the briefings to “grandstand”.

CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted last month: “I’m off today but it must be said that YOUR White House is taking away YOUR right to see and hear YOUR government answer questions today.”

Earlier this week, a Fox News reporter also made headlines when he left a briefing early and was targeted by Ms Sanders who announced from the podium: “John Roberts is bored today - he’s headed out.”

Mr Roberts responded: “If it was on camera, I might not be.”