Trump's attacks on free press echo rhetoric used by autocrats, Jodie Ginsberg says

Amna Nawaz:

For more now on the decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, we turn to Jodie Ginsberg. She is CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Jodie, welcome back to the "News Hour."

And let's just start with what we heard from the president on social media this morning, defending the ban and also saying the fake news is -- quote -- "a threat to our national security and it must be stopped."

Jodie, what's your response to that claim, framing these outlets as fake news, and also the national security angle the president's stressing here?

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO, Committee to Protect Journalists: Well, unfortunately, this claim that journalists are a threat to national security is the kind of narrative we frequently hear from autocrats, from authoritarian regimes.

It's intended to stir up public distrust of the media and to perpetuate a government-led narrative. And that's what we have seen from this president is a continual drumbeat of smears against journalists and journalism, the branding of them as fake news, as enemies of the people.

And all of that is intended to sow doubt and distrust and mistrust of the media amongst the public, so that the administration can control the narrative. But, as we heard, a free press is a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. It is named in the Constitution and constitutionally protected, not so that we can protect journalists, but so that we can protect all of our rights to receive information about what our government, the government is doing in our name.

Amna Nawaz:

You mentioned in a statement from CPJ that this ban violates the First Amendment. Talk a little bit more about what aspects of constitutional law are being tested here. And now that this will make its way through the courts, as the three outlets are suing, is there existing legal precedent that tells us where this could go?

Jodie Ginsberg:

Well, of course, one of those elements is viewpoint discrimination, in that the government is not permitted to penalize news outlets on the basis of their own viewpoints, for using language that he doesn't like.

You may remember the Associated Press was also kicked out of the White House for calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the Gulf of America. And this is similar to what we're seeing now with CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, that these are being removed from the White House, barred from the White House, simply because they are news outlets whose viewpoint the president doesn't like.

So it's clear that the president, the White House are in breach of the Constitution, of the First Amendment. We do expect this to be overturned. And, of course, it is really important that we're seeing this kind of solidarity that you mentioned in the opening -- in your opening remarks because it's important that we stand up collectively and realize this is not a partisan issue.

Amna Nawaz:

Jodie, folks watching may wonder who don't kind of follow how we work and do our jobs every day, is the White House obligated to provide access to journalists? I mean, where is the line between managing access and punishing journalists for their coverage?

Jodie Ginsberg:

Well, the White House is obligated to make sure that it is providing a broad range of access. No one has a divine right to sit in the White House press pool, for example, but the White House does have an obligation to make sure that it is making its communications available to a wide range of news outlets.

And what you heard about the press pool is really important. Often, when the president is traveling, he's traveling on Air Force One, there's not a lot of room, or he's in private small meetings. We can't have hundreds of journalists attend those meetings.

It's important that we have these shared facilities where one news outlet with sufficient resources is able to cover for the rest and get that information. I think sometimes we forget that, when you're reading your local newspaper, for example, or listening to your local radio station or watching your local broadcaster, much of that footage is being provided by the pool.

And we saw exactly what happens when that pool coverage is removed. You could not hear the president today talking about the inauguration of his new helipad because there wasn't the quality of coverage that you would get from having a professional news outlet. It's extremely costly to do that kind of coverage, and you need professional expertise.

Amna Nawaz:

Jodie, as Liz reported and you mentioned, the coverage today was already impacted, right, of the president of the United States. What concerns you most about the precedent this has now set, both for future coverage of future administrations, but also what future administrations may do in targeting journalists?

Jodie Ginsberg:

Well, I think this is the important point. Freedom of expression has to exist for everybody, regardless of their viewpoints and regardless of the viewpoint of the government.

And, of course, if this is the path that the administration wants to go down, there's nothing, of course, stopping a new administration taking a similar action against news outlets that it doesn't like, which is why I think you saw all five of the -- well, all five of the networks come together, even though they don't always see eye to eye politically, to say this was not acceptable and they were not going to continue to run the press pool while CNN was banned.

So those are the kinds of concerns that we have. And, of course, the other is, if you go down this road in which you say only a Trump TV, only the coverage provided by the White House, only the coverage provided by the government is what the public gets to see, you get a government-controlled narrative.

It is vital for us as the public that we have access to a free and pluralistic media to be able to criticize the government, to be able to analyze what the government is doing, so that we can understand what decisions are being made.

Amna Nawaz:

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, thank you for joining us tonight.

Jodie Ginsberg:

Thank you.