COMMENTARY ON THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION : Onetime White House Insiders Share Benefits of Experience : The new President’s wish to communicate more directly with the public puts him at odds with an entrenched press corps.

Psst. Here’s a little observation that drives my media friends nuts:

No group more enthusiastically advanced the rhetoric and promise of change in this year’s presidential campaign than the small, elite band of Washington reporters who cover national politics and the White House.

Yet when this crowd is confronted by a skillful, articulate new President who appears determined to communicate more directly with the citizens--rather than through the filter of a skeptical White House press corps--this group will shrilly insist upon the status quo, namely, that all media relations be conducted with them.

And there lies the first major conflict between President-elect Bill Clinton and the capital’s news media--a conflict that is inevitable, unavoidable and hardly unique to this President.

It will take a thick skin, skill and imagination to effectively buck this irksome, querulous lot without risking open warfare.

But Clinton should try it. Not ignore them, mind you, just bring some change to some of the tired, traditional ways that presidents share their thoughts and feelings with us.

The potential rewards (i.e., the advancement of the President’s public policy agenda) fully justify it. Also, the American public might learn to enjoy political discourse again.

I believe Clinton understands the value of trying unconventional means to connect with us.

He was fearless and effective in using such unorthodox forums as “The Phil Donahue Show,” “The Arsenio Hall Show,” “Larry King Live” and “60 Minutes” during the campaign when he needed to address sensitive issues that threatened his very candidacy. In doing so, he got his message through the roadblock of the traditional political media covering his campaign. And survived.

Likewise, the post-election economic summit in Little Rock was a grand communications and public policy experiment that should be refined and repeated.

The truth is that these approaches work for Clinton. They captured our imagination. They let us take the measure of a candidate who proved to be confident, at ease and agile in live, unpredictable settings that most politicians--and their staffs--find too risky.

Let’s face it. More and more Americans get their news from non-traditional sources, including talk shows.

They don’t necessarily distinguish the information they receive from People magazine or “Entertainment Tonight” from the information contained on the front page of the New York Times or in the Washington column on the back page of Newsweek.

This irritates, even dismays, serious political reporters and commentators. Me too.

But in fact, many more Americans are turning to the former for information than the latter.

It follows that if the President wants to reach out and touch the heartland of America--to bring us along--he should more frequently use the radio and television shows and specialty magazines and publications that the most Americans actually watch and read.