Hillary Clinton will travel with reporters on her new Boeing 737 campaign plane

The Democratic presidential nominee has kept journalists at arm's length throughout the 2016 campaign.
 By 
Maria Gallucci
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Hillary Clinton has kept the press at arm's length throughout her 2016 presidential campaign. But as of Monday, reporters can approach the Democratic nominee while 30,000 feet in the air.

The Clinton campaign unveiled a new Boeing 737 plane on Labor Day with Clinton's slogan "Stronger Together" plastered across the side and her "H" logo painted on the tail.

The former U.S. secretary of state was scheduled to fly on Monday with her press corps to campaign events in Ohio and Illinois, the Associated Press reported.


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Until now, Clinton mainly traveled by private jet, breaking with the common presidential campaign practice of flying in the same aircraft as her traveling press corps.

Republican nominee Donald Trump has similarly kept reporters, photographers and videographers from joining him aboard Trump Force One.

Clinton and Trump's approaches are historically unusual. In previous presidential elections -- dating back to at least the 1960s -- candidates would regularly fly to events with reporters.

Jim Rutenberg, a media columnist for the New York Times, said that allowing press on planes is less about gathering colorful anecdotes and more about the candidate's future transparency as president.

This is about something much bigger than eyewitness accounts and plane rides. It’s about how much we want to know about each candidate’s plans for the White House, and how open and accessible we want them to be as president. And ultimately, it’s about whether we truly believe in the premise that transparency is vital for democracy.

Clinton's shift on Monday is particularly significant because the Democratic nominee hasn't held a formal news conference with journalists since December 2015 in Iowa, according to the AP.

Trump has gone several steps beyond that: He's banned the Washington Post, Univision, Buzzfeed and other media outlets from receiving press credentials to cover his campaign events, including news conferences.

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Maria Gallucci

Maria Gallucci was a Science Reporter at Mashable. She was previously the energy and environment reporter at International Business Times; features editor of Makeshift magazine; clean economy reporter for InsideClimate News; and a correspondent in Mexico City until 2011. Maria holds degrees in journalism and Spanish from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.

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