Latest news with #TrevorMcFadden
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US court says Trump can bar AP from key White House events for now
President Donald Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency's journalists. AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency's decision to continue referring to the 'Gulf of Mexico' -- and not the 'Gulf of America' as decreed by Trump. In April, district court judge Trevor McFadden deemed that move a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. But on Friday, a panel of judges with the Washington-based federal appeals court ruled that, pending appeal, the government could go ahead and bar AP from 'restricted presidential spaces,' which it said did not fall under First Amendment protections. 'The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted,' the ruling said. 'Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces,' it said. The AP, a 180-year-old organization that has long been a pillar of US journalism, has so far refused to backtrack on its decision to continue referring to the 'Gulf of Mexico.' In its style guide, it highlights that the Gulf of Mexico has 'carried that name for more than 400 years' and the agency 'will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.' Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with most mainstream news media, previously describing them as the 'enemy of the people.' Since his return to the presidency in January, his administration has sought to radically restructure the way the White House is covered, notably by favoring conservative podcasters and influencers. Two weeks after barring the AP, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which of the profession's own number will be members of a pool of reporters and photographers covering presidential events. His administration has also pressed to dismantle US government-funded overseas outlets Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and is seeking to starve National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of federal funds.
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
White House launches news-style site to promote favorable coverage of Trump
The Trump administration has unveiled a news-style website that publishes exclusively positive coverage of the president on official White House servers. White House Wire, published at the government domain resembles the rightwing website the Drudge Report, with a list of headlines from right-leaning outlets praising the administration. It also promotes White House press releases and social media posts by high-level officials. The administration's launch of what it describes as a news 'wire' comes amid its ongoing efforts to restrict real news wire services from accessing the White House. Journalists with the Associated Press, the non-partisan news agency, remain barred from Oval Office events despite winning a recent court ruling that ordered the administration to re-admit it. Trevor McFadden, a district judge, ruled that the administration's attempt to punish AP for not using the new term 'Gulf of America' instead of the globally accepted 'Gulf of Mexico' was a violation of the first amendment. A White House official told Axios that the new site is 'a place for supporters of the president's agenda to get the real news', describing it as providing 'transparency'. While previous administrations would often send emails promoting positive news coverage or interviews with senior officials, it appears to be the first time federal resources have been used to build a website that curates partisan news coverage. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has been attempting to sideline the established press in favor of friendlier media. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, now follows her regular press briefings with special ones exclusively for pro-Trump 'Maga influencers', who have used these sessions to ask softball questions and to echo administration talking points. Matt Drudge, a conservative critic of Trump and founder of the Drudge Report site that seems to have inspired the government's design, teased the launch on his own website and jokingly threatened a '$1tn lawsuit' in comments to Status News.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge Declines AP Challenge To New White House Press Pool Policy, But Says Time Will Tell Whether Wire Service Still Gets 'Second Class Treatment'
A federal judge who ruled that the Trump White House's ban on the Associated Press was a violation of the First Amendment nevertheless declined to challenge the administration's response: A new policy that limits the wire service's access but doesn't restrict it altogether. After a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, Judge Trevor McFadden said that he was 'inclined to agree with the government' that the new policy was 'facially neutral.' More from Deadline "Choose Your Words Wisely": Adviser To Trump's U.S. Attorney Nominee Ed Martin Warns Democratic Strategist Over MSNBC Appearance Associated Press Is Expected To Receive A Spot In Print Pool By Sunday, White House Official Says In Court Filing Google Violated Antitrust Law By Maintaining Digital Ad Technology Monopoly, Judge Rules McFadden turned down the AP's request to issue a new order to enforce his previously ruling, that the White House must end its ban on the wire service on the basis of its content. Trump and his team had restricted the AP from the Oval Office and other events because it declined to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in its style guidance. The judge's order went into effect on Monday. It was not until Thursday, though, that an AP photographer was allowed back into the press pool. An AP print reporter will be allowed in to pool on Saturday, when the president is expected to be golfing. In light of the judge's order, the White House announced a new policy eliminated designated pool slots for wire service reporters. The AP's print reporter, who previously had a regular spot in the pool, now would be put into a regular rotation of not just wire services but other members of the press corps. The AP's attorney, Charles Tobin, argued that the new policy still punished the news organization. 'We believe they did this punitively to dilute the AP' in its access, Tobin said. He cited a provision in the new policy that stated that the president 'retains absolute discretion over access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other comparably sensitive spaces.'' Although McFadden turned down the AP's motion, he left open the possibility of a further challenge from the news organization, warning that any non-compliance with his order would be 'very problematic' and there could be 'serious consequences.' He said that it will be 'pretty telling' over time just how many times that the AP is selected in the pool compared to its wire service competitors. He denied the AP's motion without prejudice, meaning that they could seek a new challenge. 'The proof is in the pudding,' the judge said, adding that time will tell whether the AP was repeatedly receiving 'second class treatment' compared to its wire service rivals. More to come. Best of Deadline 'Ransom Canyon' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The New Netflix Western Romance Series Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far Everything We Know About Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners': From The Themes To How It Was Shot
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - There are no winners in the AP-White House feud
Pettiness and superficiality characterize both the political and journalism spheres, but the ongoing drama between the Trump administration and the Associated Press is setting a new, low standard for triviality. The AP was tossed from accessing White House events because of its refusal to refer to the body of water west of Florida, east of Texas and south of Louisiana as the Trump-preferred 'Gulf of America.' No doubt there is more to the White House grudge against AP than what to call a body of water, but that is the working explanation for now. The AP seemingly had won a round in this pillow fight when federal judge Trevor McFadden ordered the White House to restore AP access to the Oval Office and other limited spaces when other press outlets are also allowed. But the White House press managers bounced off the mat this week and again restricted AP access to the Oval Office meeting between President Trump and the president of El Salvador. The AP claims, probably correctly, that this latest barrier violates the judge's order. The White House turned up the pressure again this week, removing the guaranteed spot for wire services in the rotating press pool. The AP has run to court again, claiming the move targets the AP. This dustup will have many more chapters before it runs its course. Whatever the eventual outcome, both the AP and the White House will come off looking like losers. News-consuming citizens might be somewhat amused by the posturing, but they know well there are much more important things for the AP and the White House to be doing than squabbling over terminology of ocean water, or even who gets to hold a reporter's notebook in a press gaggle. This is an unnecessary skirmish to excite Trump haters and Trump devotees. Most sane people agree there are already enough such skirmishes. Some lawyers will make money over this dispute, and partisan pundits will drone on about the supposed broader implications for democracy, press freedom and so on. But this kind of barking distracts the public from more important issues, and there is no need to clutter up our federal courts. The White House's mismanagement of this issue began when it first rationalized its targeting of the AP for failing to rename the Gulf of whatever it is. That came off as the government punishing a press outlet over its content. Any federal judge who understands the First Amendment will side with the press on such matters. It is the American way that a news organization can use whatever terminology it pleases and get First Amendment protection. The AP could call the moon the Big Beach Ball and it shouldn't matter to the White House. The White House has wide latitude to manage press access to the administration, however, which Judge McFadden clearly pointed out in his order. But limiting access for a single outlet over content decisions is problematic. The AP, for its part, should consider how presumptuous it looks by acting entitled. The First Amendment allows for a free press, but it doesn't guarantee any particular outlet more access than any other. Sure, the AP is the largest news organization in the United States and one of the largest in the world. But it doesn't deserve exceptional treatment just because of its reach. The AP is also decidedly left-leaning, as rated by the respected AllSides Media Bias Chart. Perhaps some of AP's preferential White House treatment from past years should go to more centrist news outlets. One must also question how much harm the AP has really suffered from the White House restrictions. AP reporters continue to file reports about the Trump administration. Like other outlets, the AP has access to all filings coming out of the press pool system in the White House. What's more, while the AP has made a federal fuss over the naming of a certain gulf, it had no problem changing the name of Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley when Trump announced that name change. Names of things change all the time, including sports teams, military bases and even people, and the AP just adapts. The AP should focus more on reporting news than trying to make it. It is well known that Trump likes to battle and belittle the press corps, and there are times when the press needs to stand and fight. This is not one of those times. The guardrails of democracy are not at stake in this tussle. There are plenty of other media outlets, including anti-Trump outlets, to provide thorough coverage of the White House. Thus, this Trump-AP fight has minimal broader implication in the press-political world. This is just another brick in the wall of a growing irrelevance of press-political dialogue that is exhausting sensible Americans. Jeffrey M. McCall is a media critic and professor of communication at DePauw University. He has worked as a radio news director, a newspaper reporter and as a political media consultant. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
18-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
There are no winners in the AP-White House feud
Pettiness and superficiality characterize both the political and journalism spheres, but the ongoing drama between the Trump administration and the Associated Press is setting a new, low standard for triviality. The AP was tossed from accessing White House events because of its refusal to refer to the body of water west of Florida, east of Texas and south of Louisiana as the Trump-preferred 'Gulf of America.' No doubt there is more to the White House grudge against AP than what to call a body of water, but that is the working explanation for now. The AP seemingly had won a round in this pillow fight when federal judge Trevor McFadden ordered the White House to restore AP access to the Oval Office and other limited spaces when other press outlets are also allowed. But the White House press managers bounced off the mat this week to again restrict AP access to the Oval Office meeting between President Trump and the president of El Salvador. The AP claims, probably correctly, that this latest barrier violates the judge's order. The White House turned up the pressure again this week, removing the guaranteed spot for wire services in the rotating press pool. The AP has run to court again, claiming the move targets the AP. This dustup will have many more chapters before it runs its course. Whatever the eventual outcome, both the AP and the White House will come off looking like losers. News consuming citizens might be somewhat amused by the posturing, but they know well there are much more important things for the AP and the White House to be doing than squabbling over terminology of ocean water, or even who gets to hold a reporter's notebook in a press gaggle. This is an unnecessary skirmish to excite Trump haters and Trump devotees. Most sane people agree there are already enough such skirmishes. Some lawyers will make money over this dispute, and partisan pundits will drone on about the supposed broader implications for democracy, press freedom and so on. But this kind of barking distracts the public from more important issues, and there is no need to clutter up our federal courts. The White House's mismanagement of this issue began when it first rationalized its targeting of the AP for failing to rename the Gulf of whatever it is. That came off as the government punishing a press outlet over its content. Any federal judge who understands the First Amendment will side with the press on such matters. It is the American way that a news organization can use whatever terminology it pleases and get First Amendment protection. The AP could call the moon the Big Beach Ball and it shouldn't matter to the White House. The White House has wide latitude to manage press access to the administration, however, which Judge McFadden clearly pointed out in his order. But limiting access for a single outlet over content decisions is problematic. The AP, for its part, should consider how presumptuous it looks by acting entitled. The First Amendment allows for a free press, but it doesn't guarantee any particular outlet more access than any other. Sure, the AP is the largest news organization in the United States and one of the largest in the world. But it doesn't deserve exceptional treatment just because of its reach. The AP is also decidedly left-leaning, as rated by the respected AllSides Media Bias Chart. Perhaps some of AP's preferential White House treatment from past years should go to more centrist news outlets. One must also question how much harm the AP has really suffered from the White House restrictions. AP reporters continue to file reports about the Trump administration. Like other outlets, the AP has access to all filings coming out of the press pool system in the White House. What's more, while the AP has made a federal fuss over the naming of a certain gulf, it had no problem changing the name of Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley when Trump announced that name change. Names of things change all the time, including sports teams, military bases and even people, and the AP just adapts. The AP should focus more on reporting news than trying to make it. It is well known that Trump likes to battle and belittle the press corps, and there are times when the press needs to stand and fight. This is not one of those times. The guardrails of democracy are not at stake in this tussle. There are plenty of other media outlets, including anti-Trump outlets, to provide thorough coverage of the White House. Thus, this Trump-AP fight has minimal broader implication in the press-political world. This is just another brick in the wall of a growing irrelevance of press-political dialogue that is exhausting sensible Americans.
