On Feb. 11, the Trump Administration banned the Associate Press from the oval office and Air Force One. The ban followed AP’s release of stylistic guidelines, which most American newsrooms adhere to, stating that while recognizing the change to “Gulf of America,” AP style will continue to use “Gulf of Mexico” in writing.
On Feb. 21, AP filed a lawsuit against three white house officials, Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, for violating the First Amendment right of free speech.
The Associated Press is widely recognized as an unbiased, trustworthy, international news source. Banning AP reporters sets a dangerous precedent: If journalists who disagree with the government can be punished, where is the line?
Associated Press was established in 1846 and has 179 years of experience in writing unbiased political news. It started in New York City with the goal of providing news about the Mexican-American war. Since then, the corporation has spread internationally, with 263 locations in all 50 states and over 100 countries.
“AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business,” says their mission statement. They have a –2.27 bias score on the Media Bias Chart, meaning that it is considered unbiased with a very slight left-leaning sway. Over four billion people worldwide read AP every day.
AP is 136 years older than CNN, 147 years older than Fox and 98 years older than ABC, the most popular sources in the United States. AP has seniority in the American news cycle, and it’s respected by other sources, according to their website.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment,” AP said in a statement.
If AP loses the trial to reverse the administration’s decision to ban their reporters, future decisions will take this case into regard, possibly allowing more journalists to be punished for not showing loyalty to the president. This is especially concerning given how essential AP style and terminology are to news publications around the world.
AP style guidelines are used in most journalistic and communicative writing. Their guidelines are upheld by scholars nationwide, and their ethics have been adopted by other newsrooms. They decide the terminology that other newsrooms use, so the banning of the Associated Press for their style and wording is dangerous.
CNN and Fox have both pleaded with Trump to drop the AP’s restriction because of its threat to the integrity of journalism.
If this rule stays implemented, accessibility to independent and unbiased (a.k.a. unloyal) journalism will dwindle, and the public will only get critical political news from sources that are biased toward the president. If this happens, the country will grow more divided than ever.
When Americans are only fed democratic or republican news, the coercive persuasion of their dialogue will pit us against each other. President Trump’s actions in banning AP from the oval office and Air Force One is unprecedented. If this rule stays in effect, journalism is in danger.
Photo courtesy of Editor and Publisher.