Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently holds the rotating role covering the White House, wrote in an email seen by the BBC that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage” of President Trump.
In a joint statement, the five networks said: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.
“No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.”
The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects speech and press freedoms.
It forbids the government from “abridging” the freedom of the press – language that courts have traditionally interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.
CNN, Politico and MS NOW have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to “defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports”. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
In a joint statement on Monday, they said: “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.
“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Trump’s speech to the United Nations on Tuesday will be unaffected by the boycott because it will be carried by outlets which are not part of the pool.
But the president’s movements to and from his various New York events, which are usually filmed, could be subject to the blackout.
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