Quotes
Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office,
Pace wrote
The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decision,
White House Correspondents’ Association president Eugene Daniels noted.jpg)
It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask a president of the United States questions – that is an invitation that is given,
the press secretary responded
So the question here is – is this setting a precedent that this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language that you guys believe reporters should use, and how does that align with the First Amendment commitment you were just talking about?”
Collins pressed the White House spokespersonWe reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office,
Leavitt told the press briefing room
This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”
She addedIt is very important to this administration that we get that right,
she addedLimiting 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,
Pace added
As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism,
Pace said in a statement
The move by the administration to bar a reporter from the Associated Press from an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable,
said Eugene Daniels, president of the association
Barring AP journalists from an official presidential event because of the news outlet's editorial decisions is an affront to the First Amendment and a free press,
PEN America program director Tim Richardson said
The area lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country,
the agency saidAnything less sets a dangerous precedent and erodes the fundamental values of a free society,
he addedThe actions taken by this White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,
Pace wrote
At this point, it is not clear to us whether the White House intends to impose these access restrictions against AP reporters on an ongoing basis,
the letter readsIt is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America and I'm not sure why news outlets don't want to call it that but that is what it is,
she saidIt is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,
Pace said in a statement
The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,
the guidelines state
Please be advised that the FAA is in the process of updating our data and charts to show a name change from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and a name change from Denali to Mount McKinley. This will be targeted for the next publication cycle,
the FAA said in a charting noticeThere are other examples where the AP refers to a geographical place by more than one name. For example, the Gulf of California is sometimes referred to as the Sea of Cortez. The U.S. government has designated that body of water as the Gulf of California, while Mexico recognizes it as the Sea of Cortez,
the AP wrote in its guidance