PRAMATIR supports colleagues from North America!

Since Brian Bouton is temporarily serving as chair of the television press pool, he sent an official notice to all news organizations belonging to the consortium (including ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox). [1, 2, 3]

Key points of the statement:

• Boycott of pool events: Starting on September 21, 2026, the largest U.S. television networks stopped broadcasting and jointly covering official presidential trips and meetings held under the pool’s closed-format arrangements. [1, 2]
• Reason for the decision: The statement came in response to actions by the White House administration, which blocked access for CNN journalists, preventing them from carrying out their duties as part of the pool rotation. [1, 2]
• No replacement: Bouton emphasized that the pool categorically refuses to seek a replacement for CNN during Trump’s trips (in particular, to the U.N. General Assembly in New York), thereby expressing professional solidarity. [1, 2]
• Joint protest: Later, the five leading media networks issued a joint communiqué, stating that no authority has the right to restrict the work of independent media outlets simply because it dislikes their reporting. [1, 2]

The conflict escalated after the Trump administration barred CNN, MS NOW, and Politico correspondents from having permanent access to the White House, accusing them of spreading “fake news.” Against the backdrop of this démarche, the largest television networks began demonstratively cutting away from live broadcasts of administration officials’ remarks, returning to their studios to broadcast other international events instead.