WASHINGTON: The White House TV pool suspended shared coverage of President Donald Trump on Monday after the White House barred CNN from carrying out its scheduled presidential pool assignment.
ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media and NBC News normally rotate responsibility for filming presidential events and supplying footage to other news organisations. CBS News said the five-network television pool would suspend its shared coverage system “for now.”
The dispute followed Trump’s move to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds over reporting he described as “fake news.”
The White House said access to the complex, briefing room and press pool was a privilege rather than a constitutional entitlement. The three outlets filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking restoration of their access.
Read: CNN, MS NOW and Politico Denied Access to White House
They allege that the administration discriminated against them because of their coverage. They also say officials violated First Amendment protections and revoked their credentials without sufficient due process.
The White House Correspondents’ Association has opposed the restrictions. President Jacqui Heinrich said press protections do not depend on whether a president agrees with an outlet’s reporting or questions.
CNN’s scheduled assignment called for the network to operate the television pool as Trump travelled to New York for United Nations General Assembly events.
Read: Trump White House Media Ban Targets CNN, MS NOW, Politico
The other pool networks declined to replace CNN in that assignment, leaving presidential movements without the customary shared television feed. A federal court will hold a hearing in the access case on Wednesday, September 23, CNN reports.
