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Major TV networks back CNN amid Trump ban, suspend White House pool coverage, ‘There will be no replacement…’
Major TV networks have halted White House pool coverage in support of CNN after Trump restricted access to specific outlets.
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Principal television networks have discontinued their White House pool coverage operations and will refrain from deploying camera crews to document President Donald Trump's pool activities, demonstrating solidarity with CNN following Trump's decision to restrict White House access to journalists representing three specific outlets.
This action by the five networks comprising the television pool—ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, and CNN—will result in the absence of a broadcast television feed that is ordinarily distributed extensively across media outlets for the majority of Trump's scheduled events.
Bryan Boughton issues statement
Bryan Boughton, Fox News's D.C. bureau chief and chair of the television pool, communicated this determination through a September 21 email addressed to pool members.
"This follows the White House's position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties," Boughton stated in the email, as per USA TODAY. "There will be no replacement pool put in place."
Deep Dive
MS NOW, CNN, and Politico banned by Trump
The networks' withdrawal from the pool follows an incident in which journalists representing MS NOW, CNN, and Politico were barred from entering the White House during the weekend, coinciding with the implementation of Trump's White House restrictions against these three media organizations.
The White House pool, which operates on a rotating daily basis, comprises a select group of journalists granted intimate, in-person proximity to the president during official events. The pool incorporates one network camera crew responsible for producing a television feed distributed among all participating networks.
The White House maintains and distributes its proprietary feed of Trump's events and intends to maintain this practice. However, television networks depend upon the pool feed to obtain their video materials.
As television networks have withdrawn from pool coverage responsibilities, no television production crews are currently scheduled to accompany Trump during his travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
The White House refrained from providing commentary beyond Trump's public declarations regarding his media restrictions.
Federal lawsuit filed against Trump
Earlier today, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico collectively initiated a federal lawsuit on Monday against Trump, seeking to restore their journalists' access to the White House following their exclusion from the premises over the weekend.
The legal action contends that Trump's prohibition against the three news organizations violates the First Amendment rights of their reporters regarding freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as their constitutional protections under the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
