Scott Jennings has built one of the most recognizable brands in political media, and he’s done it without ever leaving the CNN panel desk or the Salem Radio Network microphone. So when reports surfaced that Jennings could be in the mix to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House Press Secretary, plenty of industry watchers assumed he’d jump at the chance. He shouldn’t. Jennings has spent years cultivating a platform that already does everything the podium in the briefing room promises, and trading it in for a government title would be a step down dressed up as a promotion.
Let’s start with reach. Jennings currently reaches CNN’s audience nightly, Salem’s national talk radio audience daily, and a social following that amplifies every clip within minutes.
That’s a media footprint most press secretaries spend years trying to build after they leave the job, not before they take it. Sean Spicer, Jen Psaki, and Kayleigh McEnany all left the briefing room and headed straight for a cable contract. Jennings already has his.
Why Efficiency Matters More Than Title
The press secretary role comes with a specific kind of power: the ability to generate headlines and push back against what the administration calls the “woke, liberal lamestream media.” However, Jennings already wields that power every single day. He does it on CNN, where he’s outnumbered and still manages to dominate the segment. He does it on Salem’s airwaves, where he’s speaking directly to a sympathetic, engaged audience. And he does it on social media, where a single well-placed clip can outrun anything said at a podium.
Consequently, the briefing room adds a layer of restriction, not amplification. A press secretary answers to a communications shop, a chief of staff, and ultimately the president himself. Jennings, by contrast, answers to his own instincts and a producer.
That’s a considerably freer lane, and it’s one that already delivers the same message with less interference.
The Money and the Long Game
Press secretary is a demanding job: early mornings, late nights, and a level of scrutiny that makes cable news look gentle by comparison. It also doesn’t pay like cable news or national radio syndication does. Jennings would likely take a real pay cut to trade his current arrangement for a government salary, and he’d be doing it while working considerably longer hours under a much brighter microscope. That’s not an easy sell for anyone, let alone someone who’s already established.
Beyond the paycheck, there’s the bigger question of where Jennings wants his career to go. Industry chatter has long pointed to ambitions beyond media, whether that’s a run for Congress or a future bid for governor of Kentucky. Neither goal benefits from a stint as press secretary. That job forces its holder to defend every policy and every off-script moment from the president, creating a paper trail that opponents in a future campaign would happily weaponize. Staying in media, meanwhile, lets Jennings keep building a favorable public profile without inheriting someone else’s baggage.
Additionally, timing matters in politics, and press secretary jobs rarely last long. The turnover in that seat has been rapid in recent years, and burning political capital on a short-term title doesn’t set up a longer campaign particularly well.
He Already Has What the Position Provides
Finally, and this part is admittedly a bit tongue-in-cheek: Jennings doesn’t need to leave cable news to end up in cable news. That’s the punchline of the modern press secretary track. Spicer, Psaki, and McEnany all left the podium and landed in front of a camera anyway, so the “reward” for surviving the briefing room grind is often just the job Jennings already has. Karoline Leavitt will almost certainly follow that same path once she departs, likely landing at Fox News or Newsmax as a contributor.
So why would Jennings volunteer for the detour? He’s already at the finish line other press secretaries are racing toward. Between the built-in audience, the financial trade-off, and the political ambitions reportedly on his radar, stepping behind the podium doesn’t upgrade his position. It complicates it.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.