Major US TV networks boycott shared Trump coverage after media ban
Several leading US media outlets suspended participation in the White House press pool on Monday to protest the barring of CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the building. The three banned organizations have filed a lawsuit against the administration.
Major US television networks suspended their participation in the shared White House press pool on Monday, in protest at the barring of CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House.
President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the outlets of writing "fiction or lies" about his administration. The companies said their journalists were denied access to the building on Saturday. All three organizations later said they would sue the administration to "defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports."
Shortly afterward, the White House launched its own streaming channel, Trump TV, offering a 24/7 feed of clips featuring the president.
Other outlets join in
Several other US media organizations said they would not take part in coverage of pooled events, with the New York Times and Washington Post among those declining to share still images from Monday's Trump events. As a result, there was no network TV footage of Trump boarding Air Force One or arriving in 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, which was streamed on the White House website, though his remarks were inaudible.
The president later appeared on television following a meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said all members of the media would be welcome at the press conference. Trump remarked that outlets had threatened to boycott him but that he hadn't noticed any difference.
Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently holds a rotating role coordinating White House media coverage, wrote in an email that the TV pool would no longer cover designated Trump events, saying the move followed the White House preventing CNN from carrying out its pool duties during the president's trip to New York.
The three banned organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday in the US District Court in Washington, saying in a joint statement that their credentials were revoked without notice or process, which they said threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism.
