(Bloomberg) -- The White House handpicked the first group
of outlets for a new system of media access in which it chooses
who is able to cover President Donald Trump in certain settings,
limiting the role of the three main newswires that traditionally
distribute news of the presidency around the world.
Using slots that traditionally would be assigned to the
Associated Press and Reuters, the White House added Newsmax and
Blaze Media to the so-called press pool for Wednesday. And
instead of the HuffPost, which was next up in the rotation of
print outlets, the administration invited Axios to serve as the
print representative.
Bloomberg News was the wire service chosen for the first
day of the new pooling system, according to a schedule released
by the White House. Traditionally, the AP, Reuters and Bloomberg
are all included every day. The White House has not said how
the pool will be chosen going forward.
The editors of the three news agencies - Julie Pace of The
Associated Press, Alessandra Galloni of Reuters and John
Micklethwait of Bloomberg News - released a joint statement on
Wednesday objecting to the decision.
“The three permanent wires in the White House pool, The
Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters, have long worked
to ensure that accurate, fair and timely information about the
presidency is communicated to a broad audience of all political
persuasions, both in the United States and globally. Much of the
White House coverage people see in their local news outlets,
wherever they are in the world, comes from the wires,” the
statement said.
“It is essential in a democracy for the public to have
access to news about their government from an independent, free
press. We believe that any steps by the government to limit the
number of wire services with access to the president threatens
that principle. It also harms the spread of reliable information
to people, communities, businesses and global financial markets
that heavily depend on our reporting.”
For decades the White House Correspondents’ Association,
which represents hundreds of journalists covering the
presidency, has managed the selection and rotation of reporters
who are allowed into environments with limited space, like the
Oval Office and Air Force One. Being in the pool often gives
outlets the opportunity to ask the president questions directly.
On Tuesday, the White House said that it was taking control
of who would have that access.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that
going forward, her staff would determine the pool and include
“legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for
decades” as well as “well-deserving outlets who have never been
allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”
“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the
United States,” WHCA president Eugene Daniels said in an emailed
statement Tuesday. “It suggests the government will choose the
journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders
must not be able to choose their own press corps.”
Leavitt said the pool would continue to have a rotation
that also includes at a minimum a print outlet, a radio outlet
and one major television network. She offered few details on how
participation would be determined.
The new system, announced at a White House press briefing,
came a day after a federal court hearing in which the Associated
Press asked for a temporary restraining order seeking to halt
White House efforts to block them from the press pool. The
federal judge hearing the case denied that request, but warned
the government that case law suggested it would struggle to
defend excluding the AP under the existing system. By taking
control of the pool system, the White House may avoid legal
challenges to excluding certain outlets.
The dispute between the White House and the AP stems from
the Trump administration’s move to block the nearly 180-year-old
newswire from participating in pool events because its style
guide continues to use the “Gulf of Mexico” while acknowledging
the name “Gulf of America,” which is what Trump ordered federal
officials to use.
of outlets for a new system of media access in which it chooses
who is able to cover President Donald Trump in certain settings,
limiting the role of the three main newswires that traditionally
distribute news of the presidency around the world.
Using slots that traditionally would be assigned to the
Associated Press and Reuters, the White House added Newsmax and
Blaze Media to the so-called press pool for Wednesday. And
instead of the HuffPost, which was next up in the rotation of
print outlets, the administration invited Axios to serve as the
print representative.
Bloomberg News was the wire service chosen for the first
day of the new pooling system, according to a schedule released
by the White House. Traditionally, the AP, Reuters and Bloomberg
are all included every day. The White House has not said how
the pool will be chosen going forward.
The editors of the three news agencies - Julie Pace of The
Associated Press, Alessandra Galloni of Reuters and John
Micklethwait of Bloomberg News - released a joint statement on
Wednesday objecting to the decision.
“The three permanent wires in the White House pool, The
Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters, have long worked
to ensure that accurate, fair and timely information about the
presidency is communicated to a broad audience of all political
persuasions, both in the United States and globally. Much of the
White House coverage people see in their local news outlets,
wherever they are in the world, comes from the wires,” the
statement said.
“It is essential in a democracy for the public to have
access to news about their government from an independent, free
press. We believe that any steps by the government to limit the
number of wire services with access to the president threatens
that principle. It also harms the spread of reliable information
to people, communities, businesses and global financial markets
that heavily depend on our reporting.”
For decades the White House Correspondents’ Association,
which represents hundreds of journalists covering the
presidency, has managed the selection and rotation of reporters
who are allowed into environments with limited space, like the
Oval Office and Air Force One. Being in the pool often gives
outlets the opportunity to ask the president questions directly.
On Tuesday, the White House said that it was taking control
of who would have that access.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that
going forward, her staff would determine the pool and include
“legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for
decades” as well as “well-deserving outlets who have never been
allowed to share in this awesome responsibility.”
“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the
United States,” WHCA president Eugene Daniels said in an emailed
statement Tuesday. “It suggests the government will choose the
journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders
must not be able to choose their own press corps.”
Leavitt said the pool would continue to have a rotation
that also includes at a minimum a print outlet, a radio outlet
and one major television network. She offered few details on how
participation would be determined.
The new system, announced at a White House press briefing,
came a day after a federal court hearing in which the Associated
Press asked for a temporary restraining order seeking to halt
White House efforts to block them from the press pool. The
federal judge hearing the case denied that request, but warned
the government that case law suggested it would struggle to
defend excluding the AP under the existing system. By taking
control of the pool system, the White House may avoid legal
challenges to excluding certain outlets.
The dispute between the White House and the AP stems from
the Trump administration’s move to block the nearly 180-year-old
newswire from participating in pool events because its style
guide continues to use the “Gulf of Mexico” while acknowledging
the name “Gulf of America,” which is what Trump ordered federal
officials to use.
