When U.S. President Trump banned reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from entering the White House on the grounds of critical reporting, major U.S. media outlets joined forces in response.
The White House television pool, consisting of CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, completely suspended pool video coverage of the president starting on the 21st local time.
Pool coverage refers to a system where a representative media outlet covers an event and shares the materials with other outlets.
When the White House unilaterally excluded CNN, which was the pool duty organization for President Trump's transit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the remaining broadcasters—including even the pro-Trump Fox News—refused to send replacements and joined the boycott.
As a fallout from the suspension of coverage, a so-called blackout occurred where the president's remarks and audio were not properly conveyed during White House events.
In fact, cameras and microphones from the press were absent from the completion ceremony for the presidential helicopter landing zone held at the White House South Lawn that afternoon, and even the footage provided directly by the White House was of a quality where the remarks were difficult to understand.
In response, the White House fought back by announcing plans to launch its own video channel, Trump TV.
The media backlash also spread to photojournalism, with major daily newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post deciding to restrict the publication and distribution of White House pool photos.
Meanwhile, President Trump maintained his stance, claiming, "This is not an attack on the press, but a response to fake news that threatens national security."
The barred media outlets filed a joint lawsuit against the ban in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that it violates the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech, and requested an immediate suspension of the entry ban.
However, the White House has countered by arguing that press credentials are a privilege rather than a right and do not guarantee permanent passes or briefing room seats, raising expectations that clashes between the Trump administration and the media will further intensify.
(Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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