The Obama administration, building on efforts by his predecessor George W. Bush's communications team, has aggressively used new media and social networking in a bid to reach as wide an audience as possible with a message unfiltered by the news media.
The press conference will be Obama's fourth prime-time televised session with reporters.
It comes at a time when the White House's economic policies have drawn heavy fire from Republicans who point to rising jobless figures and a record-high deficit to brand Obama's approach a failure.
Obama also faces battles in the US Congress over sweeping legislation to fight carbon emissions blamed for global warming, as well as his stated goal of enacting a sweeping overhaul of US health care by the end of the year.
Two key House of Representatives committees have approved legislation, but Obama's Democratic allies warn that there is a long fight ahead before the House and Senate can send Obama a measure to sign into law.
"I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run. But I have to say, now is not the time to slow down. And now is certainly not the time to lose heart," the president said on Friday.
"Make no mistake, if we step back from this challenge at this moment, we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits," he warned.
Obama may be on the cusp of a major victory, however, with the Senate expected by early August to confirm his historic US Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as the first Hispanic on the nine-justice bench.
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