Washington, 26 February (HS): The White House is going to break a decades-old tradition. The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would start handpicking which media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential press pool, the small, rotating group of reporters who relay the president’s day-to-day activities to the public.
The change breaks decades of precedent. It allows the White House to assert more control over which journalists can witness his activities up-close and ask him questions.
The White House Correspondents’ Association, a 111-year-old group representing journalists who cover the administration, has long determined on its own which reporters would participate in the daily pool.
Because presidents often hold events in smaller settings like the Oval Office, the pool format ensures that the public is provided with an accurate record of a president’s comments and actions. The pool reporters who witness the events distribute their reporting to the hundreds of other news outlets that cover him.
The pool is most often made up of journalists from organizations like CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, ABC News, Fox News and The New York Times.
Tuesday’s announcement was the latest in a string of aggressive efforts by the Trump administration to erode the access and influence of major news organizations that cover the White House. It is a sharp break from generations of Republican and Democratic presidents who abided by the White House press corps’ deciding on its own which reporters were granted more access.
The administration has barred reporters from The Associated Press, which supplies information to thousands of news organizations around the world, from entering the Oval Office or traveling on Air Force One, prompting a legal battle.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the new policy was intended to allow “new media” outlets — such as digital sites, streaming services and podcasts — “to share in this awesome responsibility.” She added, “Legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association rebuked the move in a blistering statement. “This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” wrote Eugene Daniels, a Politico reporter and the president of the association. “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.”
The association said that it had been given no warning of Ms. Leavitt’s announcement and that there had been no prior discussions about it with the White House. “The W.H.C.A. will never stop advocating for comprehensive access, full transparency and the right of the American public to read, listen to and watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor,” Mr. Daniels wrote.
The Trump administration recently added a “new media” seat in the White House briefing room. In recent weeks, the seat has been occupied by some journalists who strive for accuracy and fairness, such as reporters at Axios and Semafor, and by partisan figures who are sympathetic to the Trump administration, such as the podcast host Sage Steele.
Hindusthan Samachar
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