In a show of support for CNN—which Donald Trump had barred from the White House—four of the largest U.S. television networks—CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox—have decided to halt their coverage of the U.S. president, according to a statement obtained by Agence France-Presse.
“Effective today, the pool of accredited journalists covering the U.S. president will no longer cover events attended by the president that fall within the pool’s purview,” said Brian Burton, a Fox spokesperson and organizer of the network’s pool, which is responsible for filming the president throughout the day and distributing the resulting footage.
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Under a long-standing agreement, the five networks take turns filming the President and providing live footage to one another, as well as to the broader press corps. Local television stations, newspaper websites, and media outlets around the world rely on this coverage.
The networks’ decision follows a conflict that began on Friday, when Donald Trump announced in a post that he was “banning” CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
On Saturday, reporters from all three outlets were barred from entering the White House complex, while these outlets filed a lawsuit citing the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the protection of freedom of the press.
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit
It should be noted that the three U.S. media outlets barred from the White House, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, have sued President Donald Trump over this ban, arguing that the decision violates their rights—under the U.S. Constitution— — to provide journalistic coverage of the U.S. president.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, the media outlets emphasize that Trump cannot deny them access simply because he does not like what he himself calls “negative” coverage, reserving the right to coverage only for media outlets that praise him.
They also point out that the public is entitled to “accurate and comprehensive information” about his administration.
“This ban could not constitute a more direct attack on the First Amendment nor a more flagrant violation of our fundamental constitutional principles,” the media outlets emphasized.
Source: Proto Thema
