A Free Press, Until the Coverage Gets Uncomfortable?

 

A Free Press, Until the Coverage Gets Uncomfortable? On September 18, President Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House after months of criticizing their coverage of his administration. Trump accused the three outlets of publishing “fiction or lies,” and by the following day, reporters who held permanent White House press passes were being denied entry. The White House later defended the decision in a statement titled “White House Access Is a Privilege — Not a Right,” arguing that news organizations do not have a guaranteed right to White House access. The decision quickly turned into a larger fight over how much power the White House has to decide who gets to cover the president. The press pushed back CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit challenging the ban. They argue that the White House violated the First Amendment by taking away their access simply because the president objected to their reporting. They also argue that they were not given proper notice,to challenge the decision before their credentials were revoked. The dispute soon extended beyond the three outlets. CNN was scheduled to provide television pool coverage during Trump’s recent trip to New York for the U.N. General Assembly. When the White House blocked CNN from participating, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News declined to take its place in the press pool. So, why does this matter? The press pool allows journalists to independently cover the president when the entire press corps cannot be there. A smaller group follows the president into places like the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One and shares its reporting with other news organizations. Without that pool, there are be fewer independent eyes and ears on the president. The ban is blocked…for now On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily blocked the ban and ordered the White House to restore the journalists’ credentials for 14 days. His ruling largely came down to how the ban was carried out. The journalists already had White House credentials, but the administration revoked them without first giving the outlets notice or an opportunity to challenge the decision. But this does not completely end the fight over access. CNN says that even after its White House credentials were restored, it was still barred from Air Force One during a presidential trip over the weekend. The other television networks again refused to replace CNN in the press pool. The temporary order expires on October 8, and the three outlets are now asking the court to keep the ban blocked while the lawsuit continues.  For now, the larger question remains: how far can an administration go in deciding which journalists get access when it does not like their reporting?

Policy Perspectives A free and independent press is essential to a functioning democracy. It gives the public a way to understand what the government is doing and allows journalists to scrutinize those in power, even when their reporting is critical or uncomfortable. That freedom cannot depend on whether an administration believes the coverage it receives is fair.