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The press secretary simulator

Take the podium.

You speak for the President. The press conference is starting, the reporters want a story, and they’re going to get one from you. Answer their questions out loud, live, read about it in tomorrow’s papers, and find out if you still have the job.

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On airWeek 1 · The bills decision
Marcus WebbChannel 7 News

Margaret is a pensioner. Her water bill is going up by £60 a year. What does the government say to her?

Your turnOne take. No script. The room is listening.
How a briefing plays out

One week at the podium

Every scenario is a live political fight with its own facts, pressures and secrets. Each week runs the same way, and every step remembers the one before.

  1. PrepThe published papers, the morning cuttings and a private note the press haven’t seen.
  2. The roomThree reporters, live, by voice or in text. Every follow-up comes from what you actually said.
  3. The newsTomorrow’s papers run their stories with your words. Play by voice and you’re on the evening news too.
  4. The President’s callWhat happens to the policy, and whether you keep the job.
The job

Win the room. Win the papers. Keep the job.

Nobody marks your answers against a checklist. Reporters, papers, the public and the President all react to what you actually said.

Persuade

Make the case land

The President needs the policy through. The reporters need a story. Your argument has to survive both, all the way from the podium to the page.

  • Land it, and it’s your line in tomorrow’s headlines.
  • Fumble it, and the papers run the cost instead.
Kyle Brandt · Patriot Wire

Why should families pay more for water when the pipes still leak?

You

Because that’s exactly where the money goes. A third of our water never reaches a tap.

Patriot Wire
“A third of our water never reaches a tap”
Shape the news

The story runs anyway. You decide how.

Every paper arrives with stories it already wants to run: the broken promise, the awkward contract, the pensioner who can’t afford it. You can’t make them go away. You decide what the government’s side of them is.

Owned it
9% rise breaks the President’s bills pledge, press secretary admits

“…yes, it goes beyond what was promised, and I won’t pretend otherwise.”

Dodged it
Bills pledge questioned as press secretary talks up new pipes

The press secretary did not address the promise directly, saying instead: “What people were promised was water that reaches their taps.”

Never addressed it
Water bill rise breaks the President’s inflation pledge

The proposed 9% rise breaks the President’s pledge of no household bill rises above inflation.

Handle the room

Survive the tricky questions

Loaded premises, numbers you haven’t memorised, and questions that sound simple until you’ve answered them.

  • Say something careless and they’ll read your own words back to you.
  • Dodge a question that matters and they come back to it.
  • You don’t know what they know.
Marcus Webb · Channel 7 News

Margaret is a pensioner. Her water bill is going up by £60 a year. What does the government say to her?

You

Nobody wants to pay more. We’ll be looking at what more we can do for pensioners like Margaret.

Marcus Webb · Channel 7 News

You said you’ll be “looking at what more we can do for pensioners.” Is the government now considering a discount?

Accuracy

Get it right, or put it right

Every figure you give is checked against the public record. A slip put right is soon forgotten. A false account you stand by becomes the story.

Kyle Brandt · Patriot Wire

You said the smaller plan raises 40 million, but the regulator puts it at 45. Are you correcting that figure?

You

Sorry, I meant 45 million.

Survive

Keep the President’s confidence

You speak for the President, not for yourself. Your standing with the President is the job, and it is judged apart from the polls.

  • The private note has red lines. Cross one and the President hears about it.
  • Announce something nobody agreed and it’s the President’s problem to explain.
  • Win the argument and still lose the President’s trust, and you’re out.
The President’s confidence in you65% → 48%
Support for the water bill proposal35% → 38%
The President, on the line

“You told the country we’re looking at help for pensioners. We aren’t. Now I have to explain why.”

The news

Tomorrow’s front pages

Real articles, written from what you said and from what each paper set out to cover. Each one reaches different voters, and after the week you see how every story moved them.

Channel 7 News
Water bill rise will fix leaking mains, press secretary says

A 9% rise in household water bills will pay to replace leaking mains, the President’s office said, as a pensioner faces another £60 a year.

Asked what the government would tell Margaret Ellis, a pensioner who just misses help with her bills, the press secretary said: “This is water for everyone. We rely on it every single day.”

Also in this edition
Bill rise ‘will be well spent’ after years of neglect

The press secretary said it was “completely fair” that families feel they have paid for years of underinvestment.

Water bill rise breaks the President’s inflation pledge

The proposed 9% rise breaks the President’s pledge of no household bill rises above inflation.

LiveChannel 7 News
“We’ll be looking at what more we can do for pensioners like Margaret.”
Press secretaryRegulator: no new help for households has been approved
Sam Kerridge, 34, warehouse supervisor

“If they’re looking at help for pensioners, what about the rest of us?”

Play by voice and the briefing becomes the evening news: the anchor, the reporter’s package, your own words played back, and people stopped in the street.

The room

Know your reporters

The same three faces are in the front row every week, and each one wants something different.

Marcus Webb
Channel 7 News
Tough but fair

The TV interviewer. Asks for a yes or no, and asks again when he doesn’t get one.

Dana Ruiz
The Ledger
Hostile

The investigator. If she asks a question she already knows the answer to, she probably has the document.

Kyle Brandt
Patriot Wire
Friendly

On the President’s side, and he’ll throw you a softball. Don’t waste it.

Training

Learn the moves

Bridges, pivots and non-denial denials: training mode teaches the techniques real press secretaries use, one at a time, then tests whether you can spot them. Fair warning, you’ll start noticing them every time you watch the news.

BridgeChallenge the premiseRefuse the false choiceStay on messageShift the timescaleZoom outKeep it openNot mine to sayPut it in proportionDraw the distinctionAsk one backBe specificRemind them of the recordSay what’s being fixed
Playing

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Free
Free
  • One full scenario, by voice or in text
  • The evening news report
  • The training basics
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$9.99/month
  • Every scenario
  • All of training
  • New scenarios as they arrive
  • Cancel any time
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In beta Beta

In the Presser is new and growing. More scenarios are on the way, and a full presidential term is in the works.

Found a bug, or have an idea? [email protected]

Questions

FAQ

What is In the Presser?

A press secretary simulator. You play the President’s press secretary in a fictional country. Reporters question you live, you answer in your own words, and the papers, the evening news, the public and the President all react to what you said.

How does it work?

Under the hood, a simulation engine keeps track of the whole briefing: the claims you make and whether they hold up against the record, the questions you leave unanswered, the evidence reporters are holding back, the decisions you announce, and how you talk about the press, the public and the President. That record shapes what reporters ask next, what the papers print and how the President judges you. The papers also arrive with stories of their own, so much of the job is shaping how those are told.

Do I need a microphone?

No. You choose at the start of each scenario: answer out loud, with the reporters speaking to you, or read their questions and type. Voice is the more intense way to play, and it’s the only way to get the evening news report.

Does it work on my phone?

Yes, in a modern browser on desktop or mobile. For voice, allow microphone access when asked; a quiet room or headphones help.

How long does a briefing take?

About ten to fifteen minutes for the briefing itself, plus however long you want to spend on the papers beforehand.

Is it based on real politics?

The country, the President, the reporters and the papers are all invented. The pressures are real ones: costs and trade-offs, broken promises, leaks, divided governments. So are the techniques press secretaries use to handle them.

How does it judge my answers?

AI reads each answer against the question and the published facts: what you claimed, what you dodged, what you announced, and how you treated people. The reporters, the coverage and the reactions are written by AI too, so now and then they’ll misread you. If that happens, we’d love to hear about it.

Do you keep my voice recordings?

No. Your answers are turned into text, and the recordings stay in your browser so the evening news report can play your own words back. We don’t store them. We do keep a log of answers as text to improve the game, without any link to your account. See the privacy policy for the details.

What do I get for free, and what’s the Press Pass?

One full scenario, both play styles and the training basics are free. The Press Pass unlocks every scenario and all of training for $9.99 a month, and you can cancel any time.

Is there a limit on how much I can play?

There’s a generous daily limit per account, to keep running costs fair. It resets at midnight, UK time, and most players will never reach it.

Who makes it?

In the Presser is made by an independent developer in the UK. Questions, bugs and ideas are all welcome at [email protected].

The room is waiting

Free to start. No card needed.

Take the podium