The executive branch should not make any restrictions as to who can report at presidential proceedings; however, on Friday, Sept. 18, President Donald Trump initiated a ban on three specific news organizations, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, from reporting on the White House. The president’s ban of disfavored news organizations violated the constitutional rights of the press and the public.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations,” George Orwell, novelist and critic, famously said. From the American Revolution to the Watergate scandal to the present day, journalists are vital to upholding democracy by producing factual reporting and accessible information for the public. This is especially important to our student body, as factual, timely information is key in educating the youth to properly develop informed understandings of their government and society.
The administration stated that the ban was initiated for national security, calling their reports on topics such as the White House ballroom funding and damage to munitions stockpiles in the Iran conflict “fake news.”
The White House media press pool is an alternating group of journalists and camera crew who travel with the president to cover broader presidential news protected under the First Amendment. Daily, the press pool tracks the president, acting as “eyes and ears” for larger news corporations such as CNN or ABC. Under the First Amendment, the president can not expel journalists from the press pool for their coverage. However, President Trump acted against this by excluding news outlets from the White House because he disliked their coverage of current events.
The ban sparked backlash from media outlets, which Trump supporters countered by stating that former President Joe Biden enacted the same ban. In reality, Biden changed policies for journalists in 2023 to receive a “hard pass.” A hard pass allows journalists unaccompanied access to the White House’s press areas. The newly developed criteria now state that reporters have to be employed by a news organization, have a physical address in the Washington, D.C. area, and have accessed the White House at least once in the last six months. This change prevented many journalists from receiving a hard pass, but still allowed them to apply for day passes, which mandate that they be escorted through White House press zones. Biden never halted news outlets from coverage or infringed on journalists’ fundamental rights. However, President Trump has exploited power by banning certain news outlets, which is not comparable to the changes Biden initiated.
In response to the Trump administration’s ban, other news stations like The New York Times and Fox News stood in solidarity with barred agencies and abstained from using their press pool privilege for four days. Press pool audio is designed for when there is limited space in a high-profile setting. In terms of the White House, a group of journalists follows the president to gain video footage and sound bites. The journalists then send their gained audio and video footage to lesser-established news networks to ensure that all networks have equal access and accurate coverage of government proceedings. With major news organizations refusing to use their press pool privilege, this was not only affecting the proceedings of their direct coverage of presidential affairs, but it was also affecting smaller agencies and their ability to gain information.
While these actions were intended as acts of support, they enabled Trump’s administration’s objective to keep the public uninformed. Due to missing crucial reports and briefings for information, the news organizations were not reporting on relevant topics that are pertinent for the public to have access to.
The job of the journalist is to identify unjust acts in the government and bring equality to light from within – not stand by and wait for the ban to be lifted. Rather than “striking” as a protest, the news networks that did have access should have banded together and fought this decision.
Over 230 years ago, our forefathers knew that democracy could not last without freedom of the press, which ensures accountability of the powerful, government transparency, and informs the public about topics that matter. Journalists are veritable truth-tellers in the expanse of varied modern media and have a duty to tell an unbiased, complete story of events.
Censorship of the press and media is a key characteristic of fascist and dictatorial governments, a direct contradiction of the democracy Americans are promised, prompting justified concerns from citizens when Trump enacted the press bans. The government cannot penalize or retaliate against journalists or publications because they publish a critical or controversial statement or series of statements. The government cannot influence, censor, or in any way control what is being published; the censoring or blocking of a report is called prior restraint and is unconstitutional. Notably, the First Amendment establishes that the government cannot revoke the press’ pass only because it doesn’t agree with what someone or with what the publication reports, which is called content-based discrimination.
Further, the Fifth Amendment states that the government cannot seize a person’s “life, liberty, or property” without due process. Courts have argued the press passes issued by the government are shielded property or liberty. On Oct. 13, United States District Judge Timothy Kelly stated that Trump’s ban likely violated both the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and the First Amendment. He declared that the White House must restore access to the banned news outlets.
Similarly, as California student journalists, the Panther Prowler staff works under fair report privilege, the right to report on any official government proceeding, and fair comment and criticism protections, including the right to criticize public figures, including politicians. These rights shall not be infringed upon by any government body. The Panther Prowler is dedicated to bringing forth factual, non-partisan, timely reports to educate the Newbury Park High School student body and greater Ventura County community.
The Panther Prowler staff supports the targeted news outlets and the noble pursuit of reporting. It is an unconstitutional infringement on the liberty of Americans to prevent disfavored news outlets from reporting on White House proceedings.
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