WASHINGTON—The White House today announced that the Trump administration–rather than an independent group representing journalists who cover the administration–would begin choosing which media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential press pool. Yesterday, the administration won a temporary ruling allowing it to bar the Associated Press from briefings because of the AP’s editorial decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its historical and international name, instead of the presidentially decreed “Gulf of America.”

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, executive director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

“Any serious news organization would balk at participating in a press pool that’s handpicked by the President on the basis of his assessment of their editorial decisions. We worry that the long term result of this terrible policy will be a press pool comprised of toadies and hacks. Unfortunately that seems to be exactly what the White House is after.”

The following can be attributed to Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

“The White House wants to control the news by controlling which news organizations have access to the White House. This should trouble anyone who cares about press freedom and the public's access to undistorted information about government."

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected]