White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday evening said the Trump administration's decision to give conservative media outlets and other outsiders a seat at the table is intended to bring to light issues that the mainstream may not be discussing.

"There are voices and issues that the mainstream media sometimes doesn't capture. And it is important for those issues to get as much prominence as some of the mainstream ones," Spicer told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "But the idea is that, different outlets that have different audiences and different issues, have an opportunity to get those issue up front. Maybe hearing from the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), we hear about an issue that otherwise would get drowned out."

In Monday's inaugural press conference, Spicer did not take questions from the Associated Press and the television networks as former President Barack Obama had done. Instead, Spicer started with questions from the New York Post, CBN, Univision and Fox Business.

Trump has had a long-standing troubled relationship with the press since launching his campaign a year and a half ago. He has repeatedly said the mainstream media does not like him and does not cover him "fairly."