National Press Club
One can only hope that West Dunbartonshire Council and its Communications Officer Amanda Graham have been paying attention to internet postings like this one from prestigious press outlets over the weekend.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18 – National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement today:
“The National Press Club condemns President Trump’s declaration on Truth Social that he plans to immediately ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
Banning news organizations from the White House based on the administration’s disapproval of their coverage is a clear attempt to control which voices are allowed to witness and report on the exercise of presidential power.
Every American should understand what is at stake. If implemented, this ban would mark an unprecedented assault on press freedom.
The National Press Club calls on the President to reverse this declaration immediately.
President Trump is continuing his relentless and disturbing effort to bully the news media. This simply can’t happen in a democracy that has depended on a free and independent press to cover the country’s leaders for 250 years.
The First Amendment does not permit the government to pick and choose which journalists are allowed to do their jobs. When the President of the United States bars credentialed news organizations from access to his administration, he weakens one of the nation’s strongest checks on those who hold power.
A government confident in its actions should never fear independent scrutiny. A free press exists to ask difficult questions, uncover uncomfortable facts, and inform the American people. By barring major national news outlets from the White House, the administration is not only attacking individual outlets — it is directly attacking every reporter’s constitutionally protected right to hold power to account, regardless of political party.
The scrutiny a president [politician] receives from the White House press corps [or any press press team]benefits readers, viewers, and listeners across the country, giving Americans a greater understanding of government policies.
The message today’s action sends is alarming. It tells other news organizations to soften their coverage. It tells reporters to think twice before asking difficult questions, or else lose access. And it leaves the American people knowing less about the government that serves them.”
* Suggestions from readers included a boycott. One woman suggested that reporters should walk out of of briefings — “Everyone should walk out!! Grow a spine and stand up for each other. Those who stay silent are complicit.” Another wrote: “I worked in political television for many years in DC. I never thought I would see authoritarianism in our faces. It’s always been a dance between those in power and journalists. Sometimes too cozy, in my opinion. There is a reason journalism is constitutionally protected. Power to the people!” And this: “The whole press corps should walk out of the briefing room … or simply not show up.
It was made clear that without press coverage, organisations like WDC become irrelevant and that the press should not be bullied. Also, this kind of thing was more than a threat to journalists. — “It is a threat to every American who believes in one of the core foundation principles of a democracy- their right to know what their government [at every level] is doing.