Networks pull out of White House TV pool in solidarity with CNN

Major U.S. television networks that rotate responsibility for providing live feeds of presidential events said they will no longer perform those pool duties after the White House revoked access for reporters from three outlets. In a rare joint statement, Fox News Media, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and CNN argued that the public has a strong interest in receiving accurate, independent information about government and that no administration should bar a news organization over its reporting. The pool itself informed subscribers that effective immediately it would stop covering events designated as pool coverage of the President, citing the White Houses action in preventing CNN from carrying out assigned duties and saying no replacement pool would be put in place. The networks coordinated response follows President Trumps decision to strip credentials from reporters working for CNN, MSNBC and Politico, which the administration said was linked to the outlets recent coverage. Reporters from the three outlets were denied access to the White House and had their credentials revoked over the weekend, according to the outlets accounts. The banned organizations announced early Monday that they were preparing a legal challenge to the administrations move, with plans to argue their case on First Amendment grounds. The action has drawn criticism from media watchdog groups, free press advocates and elected Democrats. President Trump defended the decision on his social media platform, asserting that the administration was targeting what he called "fake news" rather than engaging in an assault on the press. The dispute has disrupted the established process for distributing presidential coverage to broadcasters and set the stage for courtroom and political confrontations over access and press freedoms.