Three major international newswire agencies have criticised a recent move from the US’ White House to limit their access to presidential events, calling it a threat to press independence.
On Tuesday, the White House announced that it would strip journalists of the longstanding power to decide which reporters cover events involving President Donald Trump.
Trump boasted that he was now “calling those shots” on media access, a decision that has raised alarms about the role of a free press in a democracy.
Reuters, Bloomberg News, and The Associated Press issued a joint statement on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, asserting that “it is essential in a democracy for the public to have access to news about their government from an independent, free press.”
The agencies, which were previously part of the White House press pool, now have reduced access to a single seat under the new policy.
The Associated Press, which has been involved in a dispute with Trump over the naming of the Gulf of Mexico, has had its access revoked entirely.
The agencies argued that the changes harm the dissemination of reliable information to global communities, businesses, and financial markets.
The White House pool, previously managed by the White House Correspondents Association, includes select reporters covering the US president in close spaces, such as the Oval Office. AFP, another news agency, remains unaffected by the changes but is classified differently in the pool.
Katherine Jacobsen from the Committee to Protect Journalists emphasised the importance of solidarity among media organisations, stating that this issue transcends political lines and concerns the state of American democracy and access to information.
