Major US networks refuse to replace CNN in White House pool after Trump ban
Major US television networks have refused to replace CNN in the White House press pool after the Trump administration barred the network from carrying out its assigned duties.
ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC joined CNN in a rare joint statement opposing the restriction.
“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,” the networks said.
The decision meant there was no shared television pool covering President Donald Trump's events designated for pool coverage on Sept. 21.
Under a decades-old arrangement, the five major networks take turns providing a camera crew that films the president and shares live footage with other broadcasters and news organizations around the world.
CNN was scheduled to provide the pool crew on Sept. 21 and accompany Trump to New York for the UN General Assembly. But after the White House prevented CNN from fulfilling that role, the other networks declined to take its place.
“There will be no replacement pool put in place,” Bryan Boughton, Fox News' Washington bureau chief and current chair of the television pool, told participating news organizations.
Still photographers also joined the action. Photographers working for The New York Times, AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images withheld pool photographs of Trump's appearances until the end of the day. The Washington Post said it would also refrain from publishing photographs of his appearances until midnight.
Trump rejected accusations that his administration was attacking press freedom.
“The White House is not attacking the Free Press - something I cherish. It is attacking FAKE NEWS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, describing what he called fake news as a threat to US national security.
Trump announced on Sept. 18 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House, accusing the outlets of publishing “fake” coverage of his administration.
The three news organizations have since filed a federal lawsuit challenging the restrictions, arguing that the White House revoked their journalists' access because it disagreed with their reporting.
Trump's first live event on Sept. 21 without the television press pool was a ceremony marking the opening of a new White House helipad. The White House livestreamed the event itself, but CNN reported that Trump's remarks were largely inaudible because of the noise from a helicopter.