press gaggle

By analogy with a gaggle of goose. First recorded in the briefing sense in the early 2000s.

press gaggle (plural press gaggles)

1. (US, journalism, politics) An informal off-camera briefing given by a spokesperson or politician.
   • 2004 November 15, Herb Jackson, “Codey can expect a cozy honeymoon”, in The Record‎^[1], Bergen County, New Jersey:

     In 20 years of journalism, I'd never seen a public official do what McGreevey did when asked a question he didn't want to answer at a press gaggle after a public event […]

2. (rare) A noisy crowd of journalists.
   • 1988 January 22, Kurt Wilkie, “Gary Hart, Revisited”, in Boston Globe‎^[2]:

     When he returned to his hometown in Kansas over the weekend, the press gaggle made it difficult for Hart to circulate among several hundred people from Ottawa who turned out to meet him at a reception.

• press gaggle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia