President TRUMP has banned CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from the WHITE HOUSE after objecting to their critical coverage.
A free press is not supposed to serve the President or any political leader. Its responsibility is to question those in power, investigate their actions and inform the public.
Punishing news organizations because their reporting is critical threatens an essential principle of DEMOCRACY: the government must not control the press by deciding which journalists deserve access.
The issue is bigger than CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO. It concerns every journalist who asks difficult questions and every citizen who depends on an independent press to hold government accountable.
Presidents have enormous power, but that power does not include the right to silence criticism.
A DEMOCRACY cannot remain healthy when journalists fear losing access because they report stories that anger those in power.
The WHITE HOUSE should answer tough questions with facts, transparency and accountability—not exclusion.
A free press is not the enemy of government. It is one of the safeguards against government becoming unaccountable.
TRUMP’s ban on CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO raises a vital question: Can a President punish journalists for critical reporting? A free press must remain free.
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