From the article:

“Seventy-eight percent of Democratic respondents in the poll said the daily White House briefings and Biden’s other media appearances are enough. Among independents, 51 percent agreed.

Seventy-three percent of Republicans, however, said Biden’s lack of press conferences has created transparency problems.”

Why would would such a partisan divide exist in the result of this polling?

Politico’s senior media writer Jack Shafer may have the answer:

“But presidential press conferences are almost never about the public. They’re about letting the press preen a little, to provide a live, broadcast forum where they can ask some sharp-edged questions and maybe get the president to say something newsy or even better: fumble.”

It is not unusual for reporters to play the “Gotcha!” game with public officials that the reporters are politically opposed to. A presidential press conference is common setting for the “Gotcha!” game.

An example of this game was witnessed in the presidential press conference that took place on 21 March 2006, when Hearst journalist Helen Thomas was called upon by then-POTUS George W. Bush:

HELEN THOMAS: I’d like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet — your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth — what was your real reason? You have said it wasn’t oil — quest for oil, it hasn’t been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist, is that, you know, I didn’t want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect —

HELEN THOMAS: Everything —

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Hold on for a second, please.

HELEN THOMAS: —- everything I’ve heard -—

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Excuse me, excuse me. No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it’s just simply not true.

Bush refused to become a victim of “Gotcha!” game the Thomas was playing.

By waiting until late March 2021 to have a press conference, President Biden is refusing to needlessly expose himself to the “Gotcha!” game that reporters from anti-Biden media outlets will try to play. That is why Republicans complain about Biden’s refusal to have frequent press conferences.

Granted, press prima donnas don’t need a presidential press conference in order to glorify themselves by playing “Gotcha!” Another tactic that they use is to yell out questions at inappropriate times.

On 26 January 2021, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy tried that tactic, and it backfired on him

“In one of his first days in office, Biden fielded a phonecall from Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, whose administration been accused of tampering in the last two American elections. As Tuesday’s press conference was ending, Doocy shouted out a final question, asking what he and Biden had talked about. Biden quickly quipped, “You,” adding, “He sends his best.””

During that particular incident, the press conference had ended, and President Biden was walking away when Doocy yelled out his question.

In his response to the incident, journalist Matt Prigge writes, “Some accused Biden of dodging Doocy’s question. Thing is, a readout of his Putin conversation is already on the White House website, for all to see.”

Yes, Doocy yelled out a question that the Biden Administration had already answered.

The claim that “a lack of press conferences equals a lack of transparency” is a claim refuted by the daily press briefings orchestrated by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.