Variety on X posted this “ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News have joined CNN in suspending pool coverage of Trump after he banned CNN from the White House. “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
I replied.
Excuse me, but I and millions of other Americans and millions of people worldwide pay to watch your “news”. We pay for ALL the news, not selective coverage because your feelings are hurt. Your job is to report the news, not to throw a toddler tantrum in aisle three. You are not the sacred defenders of the news you think you are. There a plenty of independent other news organizations, small and large, and sometimes consisting of only one person like Nick Shirley, who will fill the vacuum you leave behind. Being on TV every day has gone to your head to the point where you think you are irreplaceable and indispensable. The internet will prove you wrong.
To that I add the following appeal:
The networks just proved they still believe they own the camera. When the White House blocked one of their own from the rotating TV pool, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CNN chose to go dark together rather than let anyone else pick up the shot. That is not solidarity with the First Amendment. It is a guild protecting its monopoly on the pictures that define a presidency. They have spent decades telling the public that only they can be trusted with the official feed, that the rest of us are amateurs, influencers, or “disinformation.” Today they handed the public a live demonstration of how replaceable they actually are.
Independent reporters, streamers, and citizen journalists: this is the opening. Show up with phones, cheap rigs, and the platforms the networks still treat as a sideshow. Film the events they refuse to cover. Post the raw video before the talking heads can frame it. Let the audience see that news does not require a pool credential, a makeup chair, or a six-figure salary. The high horse just lost its TV feed. Ride past it.