Dozens of major news organizations, including CNN, The Washington Post and Fox News, wrote to the White House this week urging the Trump administration to immediately lift its ban on The Associated Press, which had been prohibited from attending a number of official press events over the past week.
The White House has said it is blocking reporters from the news service because the outlet refers to the Gulf of Mexico in its articles, rather than “Gulf of America,” as decreed by President Trump in an executive order on Jan. 20.
The letter, which was coordinated by the White House Correspondents’ Association and delivered on Monday, was signed by 40 outlets. It said the decision to bar The Associated Press was “an escalation of a dispute that does not serve the presidency or the public.”
The First Amendment prohibits the government from asserting control over how news organizations make editorial decisions, the letter said. “Any attempt to punish journalists for those decisions is a serious breach of this constitutional protection.”
The letter was first reported by the media newsletter Status. Alongside the mainstream media outlet signatories, which also included The New York Times, NBC and The Wall Street Journal, were the conservative outlets Fox and Newsmax.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House Correspondents’ Association also did not respond to requests for comment.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on Thursday released a separate letter it had sent on Monday to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, which was signed by more than 30 news organizations and asked for the restoration of The A.P.’s access to the press pool, the rotating group of journalists that travels daily with the president.
The A.P., which provides guidance on its editorial decisions over language in its stylebook, said in a post on Jan. 23 that it would continue to use the Gulf of Mexico terminology because the oceanic basin had carried that name for more than 400 years and Mr. Trump’s executive order did not carry authority outside the United States.
A number of other news organizations have largely continued to use Gulf of Mexico, including The Times. On Friday, the White House deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, said in a post that the Trump administration would indefinitely bar A.P. journalists and not give them access to spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One. “While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited space,” he said.
Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The A.P., said the news organization had covered the White House for more than 100 years.
“This is about the government telling the public and press what words to use and retaliating if they do not follow government orders,” she said.
The A.P.’s executive editor, Julie Pace, said that the outlet was prepared to “vigorously defend its constitutional rights.”
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