How The New York Times Covers the SOTU Under Intense Deadline Pressure

The editor who oversees White House coverage for The Times talks about the challenges of tracking a major speech by a president who regularly goes off script.

The State of the Union, a scripted opportunity for the president to address a joint session of Congress and the American public, has been punctuated by unscripted moments.

In 2024, President Biden exclaimed that he was ready for a second term. He dropped out of the race later that year. Four years earlier, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wearing suffragist white, ripped up a copy of the speech President Trump had just delivered. In 2010, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. appeared to mouth the words “not true” during President Obama’s speech.

So we have to be ready for anything. On Tuesday night, more than 50 New York Times journalists will cover the event, including two reporters and four photographers inside the House chamber, where the president will speak.