The Trump administration has removed CNN from its scheduled role as the television pool representative for the White House press corps on Monday, breaking with a decades-old arrangement under which major US television networks rotate responsibility for presidential pool coverage. This decision comes days after President Donald Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were being barred from the White House.
Reporters from the three organisations were subsequently turned away from the White House complex, escalating a dispute over press access and the administration’s relationship with critical news organisations. The move has implications beyond CNN, as other news organisations depend on the shared pool footage for their coverage of presidential events.
CNN had been scheduled to provide the television pool for Monday and was also expected to accompany Trump to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. However, a White House press schedule circulated on Sunday night did not list any television network as the primary TV pool for Monday.
Under a longstanding arrangement, ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News share television pool responsibilities at the White House. The networks take turns supplying crews to record the president’s activities and provide live footage to one another and to other news organisations.
The system is particularly important during presidential movements and events where physical space is limited and it would be impractical for every news organisation to deploy its own television crew. When a network serves as the primary pool, its crew generally includes a camera operator, an audio technician, and a producer or reporter.
Hearst was listed as the “secondary” television crew in Washington, while Real America’s Voice, was listed as the “secondary” crew for the New York trip. The development came after Trump on Sunday night reiterated his decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
The Trump administration’s escalation of its confrontation with the White House press corps has raised concerns about press access and the administration’s relationship with critical news organisations. The removal of CNN from the pool duty has sparked a heated debate about the role of the media in a democratic society.
Key points
- The Trump administration removed CNN from its scheduled role as the television pool representative for the White House press corps on Monday.
- The decision breaks with a decades-old arrangement under which major US television networks rotate responsibility for presidential pool coverage.
- The move has implications beyond CNN, as other news organisations depend on the shared pool footage for their coverage of presidential events.
