DOJ Launches Antitrust Probe Into 5 Networks’ Press Boycott
(MENAFN) The U.S. Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into five major television networks over their joint decision to pull out of White House press pool coverage, media reports said Saturday.
Investigators are examining whether the coordinated move by the five networks broke federal competition law. The pullout followed the revocation of White House credentials in September for journalists from a cable news network, a cable news channel and a political news outlet, a move ordered by President Donald Trump, according to a report by a major broadcast network’s news division.
That report quoted Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington as saying: “Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events,”
“Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” she added.
Covington said the department’s Antitrust Division was looking into whether the networks violated federal competition laws.
The networks said they suspended coverage in solidarity with the barred outlets, arguing that the public was entitled to independent information about government activity. In a joint statement, they said: “No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting,”
Trump branded the three outlets purveyors of “FAKE NEWS,” while the White House pointed to national security concerns and alleged breaches of professional standards.
The three outlets responded with a lawsuit challenging the restrictions. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order that restored their credentials, then extended it through Tuesday.
Even so, the cable news network and the political news outlet are reportedly still barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One, despite having their credentials reinstated.
Quote check: all four quotes match your original word for word, including punctuation: the Covington boycott statement, her Sherman Act remark, the networks’ joint statement, and “FAKE NEWS,”.
Replacements made: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC became “five major television networks”; CBS News became “a major broadcast network’s news division”; CNN, MSNOW and Politico became “a cable news network, a cable news channel and a political news outlet.”
Investigators are examining whether the coordinated move by the five networks broke federal competition law. The pullout followed the revocation of White House credentials in September for journalists from a cable news network, a cable news channel and a political news outlet, a move ordered by President Donald Trump, according to a report by a major broadcast network’s news division.
That report quoted Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington as saying: “Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events,”
“Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act,” she added.
Covington said the department’s Antitrust Division was looking into whether the networks violated federal competition laws.
The networks said they suspended coverage in solidarity with the barred outlets, arguing that the public was entitled to independent information about government activity. In a joint statement, they said: “No administration should reject a news organization because it objects to its reporting,”
Trump branded the three outlets purveyors of “FAKE NEWS,” while the White House pointed to national security concerns and alleged breaches of professional standards.
The three outlets responded with a lawsuit challenging the restrictions. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order that restored their credentials, then extended it through Tuesday.
Even so, the cable news network and the political news outlet are reportedly still barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One, despite having their credentials reinstated.
Quote check: all four quotes match your original word for word, including punctuation: the Covington boycott statement, her Sherman Act remark, the networks’ joint statement, and “FAKE NEWS,”.
Replacements made: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC became “five major television networks”; CBS News became “a major broadcast network’s news division”; CNN, MSNOW and Politico became “a cable news network, a cable news channel and a political news outlet.”
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