Times24.net: Major US television networks suspended their pooled coverage of President Donald Trump on Monday after CNN, Politico and MS NOW were barred from the White House. Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the organisations of writing or reporting “fiction and lies” about his administration. The three outlets said their journalists were denied access to the White House over the weekend. The three US outlets filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, seeking to restore their access and arguing that the ban violates their constitutional rights. Shortly afterwards, the White House launched its own streaming service, “Trump TV: The Essentials Station”, offering a 24/7 feed featuring clips and other material from the president and his administration.
Several other US outlets also declined to participate in pooled coverage. The New York Times and Washington Post, among others, said they would not publish or distribute still photographs from Trump's events on Monday. The move meant there was no pooled television coverage of Trump leaving the White House or travelling to New York for the UN General Assembly. Trump also took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Marine One helipad on the White House South Lawn. The White House streamed the event, but Trump's remarks were largely inaudible because there was no television pool providing the usual coverage.
The president later appeared on television following a meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani told Trump that members of the media would be welcome at the press conference. Trump said: “It's interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn't very worried about that. Look at all that press.” The television pool allows media organisations to share the costs and logistical burden of covering presidential events. The assigned network provides footage that other participating outlets can use. Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who holds a rotating role in organising television crews covering the White House, wrote in an email to pool members that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President”. The email said the move followed the White House preventing CNN from carrying out its pool duties during Trump's trip to New York and that “there will be no replacement pool put in place”. The Washington Post reported that the email was sent to members of the White House press corps. The three media organisations banned from the White House filed their lawsuit on Monday in the US District Court in Washington. They argued that their credentials were revoked because the administration objected to their reporting and said the decision threatened press freedom and the public's access to independent journalism.
Major US outlets suspend Trump coverage over media ban
