Webinar: ‘Trump’s attacks on press freedom and their global repercussions’

The Trump administration announced on 25 February that it will start selecting which media outlets are allowed to participate in the presidential press pool in the White House. This move will break from a century of tradition in which the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), a body representing journalists, has long determined which reporters would participate in the pool to ensure accuracy. The WHCA condemned the decision in a statement that reads: “This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president.  In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

The ‘Gulf of Mexico’ case

On his first day in office, Trump signed a controversial order to rename the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ – the body of water between the two countries – as ‘Gulf of America’. The international news agency Associated Press (AP) refused to use the new name and, in a tit-for-tat move, the White House barred the news service’s reporters from attending press events, unless the organisation used the ‘Gulf of America’ term.

On 21 February, AP filed a lawsuit against Taylor Budowich, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff; Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary; and Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff. It accused them of violating the US Constitution’s First and Fifth Amendments by denying AP’s reporters access to press events in retaliation for not following the President’s decree. A federal judge refused to immediately, restore AP’s access to presidential events on 24 February, but urged the Trump administration to reconsider the ban.

However, both AP and media, which have decided to stick to the long-standing name, are merely respecting professional ethical principles. As stated in the preamble to the IFJ’s Global Charter of Ethics: “The journalist’s responsibility towards the public takes precedence over any other responsibility, in particular towards their employers and the public authorities.” 

“Neither Trump nor any public authorities can dictate to journalists which words to use in their reporting. The right to editorial independence is enshrined in the US Constitution as it is the universal right to information, including the citizen’s right to seek, receive and impart information,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.

Journalists’ unions and associations to show unity

The ‘Gulf of Mexico’ case is not just a disagreement over how to name a body of water as it  embodies Trump’s attempts to control the media. While the President is imposing new language and is saturating the press with announcements that may or may not be  implemented, he is making sure that he punishes those who do not follow the new government line.

In the face of provocations and attacks by the Trump administration, journalists’ unions and associations in the US are taking action to protect journalism and journalists’ rights. The National Writers Union (NWU) declareditself as a ‘sanctuary union’ and made a commitment to protect the rights and safety of all its members. The NewsGuild-CWA repeatedly condemnedgovernment attacks on press freedom. Along the same lines, the Authors Guild condemned the criminalisation of constitutionally protected freedom of expression by the government.

“The United States government doesn’t get to control the media—it’s called a free press for a reason,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. The NewsGuild-CWA is the largest union of journalists in North America, representing working journalists at hundreds of outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times and more. “Trump’s ban on journalists at White House events violates the law. We stand with our members and all journalists shining a light on the Trump administration and holding power to account.”

NWU President Larry Goldbetter said: “The attacks on journalism and journalists did not start with Trump, but they are being greatly accelerated. The main target here, as in Gaza, is the public’s right to know. You silence journalists and the media while you carry out a reign of terror that you hope no one can see. The strength of journalists’ unions inside North America and around the world will not allow that to happen.”

CEO of the Authors Guild, Mary Rasenberger, said: “When government agencies discredit fact-checking, launch baseless distortion investigations and scrutinise diversity initiatives, they’re not protecting free speech. They’re chilling it.”. 

Bellanger pledged that journalists and journalists’ unions and associations will show unity and respect professional principles to avoid getting dragged into Trump’s provocations. “Journalists across the world should stop following the tempo of the US President and refer to the IFJ’s Global Charter of Ethics. As it clearly states: “Journalism is a profession, the exercise of which requires time […] the notion of urgency or immediacy in the dissemination of information will not prevail over fact-checking,”

“Journalists and media employers must never forget that their responsibility to the public takes precedence over any other responsibility, especially at a time when quality information is being sabotaged on every continent in the world.”
The IFJ will organise, together with its US (NewsGuild-CWA and NWU) and Canadian (Unifor and CWA) affiliates, a webinar entitled ‘United States. Attacks on Press Freedom and their Global Repercussions’ on Tuesday, 4 March, at 1 p.m. EST (New York) / 10 a.m. PST (Vancouver) / 7 p.m. CET (Brussels).

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