Major US TV networks pause White House pool coverage over Trump media ban

In a rare move the top five US news organisations have temporarily stop pooled coverage of events at the White House in solidarity with media whose access was revoked by President Donald Trump on Friday.

He accuses CNN, Politico, and MS NOW of writing “fiction and lies” about him and has launched his own TV channel in response.

The move is a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts to restrict news coverage he finds objectionable.

CNN had been scheduled to serve Monday as the White House TV pool, which would have seen it film on behalf of all television outlets for the day.

ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC said in a joint statement that "the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.”

It added that "no administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting".

The three banned media have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, calling the decision a "blatant violation" of the First Amendment.

It protects five core freedoms, including the right to free speech and freedom of the press.

They said they were pursuing the legal action to "defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports".

Trump reacted to news of the lawsuit, calling the news organisations the "Crooked and Corrupt Press" and a threat to national security, saying he would defend the order in court.

"The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America."

As a result of the row, Trump's opening of his cherished new White House helipad and his trip to the United Nations General Assembly proceeded without live television coverage.

The suspension of the feed comes in a critical week during which Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting the White House.

There may be no live TV of Trump's meetings with foreign leaders at the UN in New York, an annual forum that is closely watched around the world.

Meanwhile the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the giant granite helipad on the South Lawn was only streamed on the White House's website and Trump's comments were completely inaudible.

A US district judge set a hearing on the media complaint for Wednesday.

Trump warned Friday that other outlets could face a similar fate, without saying which.

The ban comes at a time when his approval ratings are at record lows, his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections, and the Iran war drags on with no end in sight.