Did Helen have that seat in the original White House, before it was burned down by the British?
Maaybe... but most recently, she held the seat in the WH pressroom when UPI was still a newswire - when they got bought out by Rev. Moon, I believe she went to work for Hearst newspapers as a columnist - so, one did not need to be an actual hard-news reporter to have a seat in the WH pressroom since at least 2000.