US TV networks suspend White House pool coverage over Trump media ban

The major US television news outlets agreed to suspend their video coverage of Donald Trump after the administration banned journalists from several outlets from entering the White House grounds.The collective decision came after the barred outlets – CNN, MS Now and Politico – sued the administration on Monday, saying the president’s actions were a violation of their first amendment rights.The ban was an extraordinary escalation of Trump’s battle against news outlets. After a coalition of networks including ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC – which along with CNN form a press “pool” that share the responsibilities of capturing and distributing footage of the president carried by news outlets worldwide – announced they would cease coverage in solidarity with the barred outlets, the White House promoted its own feed online, branding it “Trump TV”. The channel purported to show “top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place”.“Get real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone,” the White House posted on social media. “No noise. Just the news that matters most – straight from the Trump Administration.”It is extremely rare for a president to travel or make public appearances without the accompaniment of a representative from the White House television pool. Network cameras have provided coverage of the president since 1950.On Monday, the ban against CNN meant that no broadcaster was covering Trump’s midday ribbon-cutting to unveil a new White House helipad. Although the White House provided a livestream, without professional boom mics and audio setup, the president’s remarks were inaudible over the sounds of a helicopter’s engine running in the background.The president abruptly announced his ban against outlets this weekend in a Truth Social post, saying he had enough of “purposely negative stories” about him. Journalists had their press badges confiscated by Secret Service on Saturday.“Effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, Fox News’s Washington bureau chief who is also currently serving on as TV pool chair, wrote in an email to pool members Monday. The role is rotated each quarter. “This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties,” said Boughton.In a show of support with the banned outlets, several outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Associated Press, said they would not publish or distribute images taken as part of the White House photography pool including Trump’s departure on Marine One and his events at the United Nations in New York, until midnight ET. In a statement, the Washington Post described the action as part of a “collective effort”.The five news networks, including CNN, wrote in a joint statement: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”Although the broadcast networks said they would withhold televised coverage, the print, radio and wire service press pool continues to provide reports detailing Trump’s movements throughout the day.Hours after the broadcast networks’ announcement, the Washington Post said it would also withhold its photographs of presidential events from being published until after midnight ET to support banned outlets.On Friday, Trump abruptly announced he was banning CNN, Politico and MS Now from the White House because, he believes, they “constantly write or report FICTION and LIES”. On Saturday, reporters and other staff from the news organizations were denied access to the White House.Other media outlets and first amendment advocacy groups responded by condemning Trump’s ban, calling it an infringement on the right to a free press.On Monday, CNN, Politico and MS Now filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to temporarily block the enforcement of the ban and restore the reporters’ passes to the White House.On Truth Social, Trump defended his decisions, insisting that his ban was not “instituting an assault on the Free Press”, but instead addressing “national security” threats – a claim the US president has recently used to justify building a triumphal arch and the White House ballroom.