The White House on Tuesday announced that it will take control of the selection of which news outlets will be picked for the press pools covering US President Donald Trump, a decision that has been in the hands of an independent association since 1914.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has so far had sovereignty over the press pool and has been determining which reporters would report on behalf of all accredited journalists for occasions when there are only limited places available.
The standardized procedure sees the pool reporters then passing on the information and quotes collected to all accredited journalists.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that for decades the WHCA has “dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore.”
“The White House press team in this administration will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office,” Leavitt said at a news briefing.
The spokeswoman said that the move would allow “new media” outlets to “share in this awesome responsibility.”
“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,” she said.
“By deciding which outlets make up the limited press pool on a day-to-day basis, the White House will be restoring power back to the American people,” Leavitt added.
The WHCA said in a statement that “this move tears at the independence of a free press” in the country. “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 New York Times newspaper described the decision in a spokesman’s statement on the X platform as “an effort to undermine the public’s access to independent, trustworthy information about the most powerful person in America.”
The move comes amid a dispute between the White House and the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
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