One of the very first executive orders signed by President Donald Trump attempts to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. But under international law, the American government doesn’t have the authority to change the name of the entire Gulf worldwide — and most countries, including Mexico and Cuba, aren’t accepting the name change. Likewise, noting that the area has carried the name the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years, The Associated Press, better known as the AP, decided not to change the name in their reporting. In retaliation, the Trump administration barred the AP’s reporters from the White House press pool and events. It hasn’t stopped there. They followed up by announcing they intend to cherry-pick friendly media to join the press pool instead, breaking more than a century of independence granted by every Republican and Democratic administration before this one. This is an unacceptable attack on freedom of the press, in violation of the First Amendment. The AP has sued to regain access, arguing that the administration’s goal is to coerce journalists to use “only government-approved language” in reporting. The administration doesn’t have to wait until the court orders them to act, but they won’t change course unless they hear from the American people. The AP has been a member of the White House press pool since it was founded in 1846. Having earned the honor of 59 Pulitzer Prizes, the AP is respected for its journalism with a worldwide reach of over 4 billion people per day. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press and the right to free speech. The Fifth Amendment grants due process, and the AP was not given a formal opportunity to challenge the ban before it was implemented. The bottom line is that as White House Correspondents’ Association chief Eugene Daniels wrote in his statement: “The president cannot dictate how news organizations report the news.” The Intercept is not alone in calling for action. Forty media outlets, ranging from Fox News and CNN to the Washington Post and the New York Times, have called on the White House to change course and reinstate the AP.  Thank you, The Intercept Voices team The Intercept is a recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Intercept’s mailing address is: The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism. |
Fwd: [EXTERNAL] Take action: The Associated Press should not be barred from the White House.
From:
"Khani Begum khani@PROTECTED [Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition]" <peacelist@PROTECTED>
In-Reply-To:
(no subject)
Date:
March 12th 2025
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