On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. This event emphasizes what’s now becoming an unprecedented and shocking discussion — the growing threat against the First Amendment.
In schools across the United States, the Bill of Rights is taught to be unalienable. The same students who are told to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance each morning should feel secure in the knowledge their rights will never be taken from them.
Even when U.S. citizens are stripped down to their barest freedoms, when our status as Americans is known only by our founding documents, these rights can’t be withheld. They’re sewn into the fabric of the United States and woven through the life of every inhabitant of our nation.
The leader of our nation shouldn’t have the power or the ego to remove White House access to major news networks, simply on the basis that he doesn’t agree with their reporting.
With this ban comes the addition of what seem to be state-run media. Days after the removal of major outlets from the White House, the Trump Administration launched a new 24/7 YouTube broadcast titled “TRUMP TV” and said it would feature “the biggest moments all in one place,” according to NPR.
The Phoenix sees this move as hypocritical after the president said the banned news outlets were spreading fake news, fiction and lies. The @whitehouse and @potus social media accounts regularly feature AI-generated videos where little truth is relayed. Additionally, the U.S. Government recently paid $14,000 to run Republican campaign advertisements on Newsmax and FOX News, according to The AP. We are fearful that state-sponsored news sources wouldn’t protect the truth the way journalists vow to.
Freedom of the press allows journalists to publish indispensable information — notably information that holds elected officials and governmental bodies accountable — as well as access sources to conduct thorough research. By barring them from the White House, our rights under the First Amendment are infringed upon.
Freedom of the press should extend to student newspapers too, allowing them to publish criticisms of their schools, no matter the outcome. In the college realm, The Alestle — the student-run newspaper of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) — experienced an escalation of their two year fight against their marketing and communication admin for journalistic freedom this summer.
By monitoring The Alestle’s interviews, reporting their editors to the police and sending critical emails to the student body, the marketing and communication administration of SIUE is depriving student journalists of their voice in the name of good optics.
Both of these situations reinforce the importance of journalistic freedom, especially in the face of increased threats such as newspaper bans or increased restrictions.
As journalists, we have an obligation to disseminate information to those around us. As students, we have an obligation to educate ourselves both academically and politically. As U.S. residents, our administrations — whether it be Loyola’s or that of the United States — have an obligation to uphold and advocate for the protection of our constitutional rights.
The Phoenix is no stranger to censorship, whether it be on a local or national scale. In 2019, the school administration made it difficult to conduct interviews and mirrored the government’s press-avoiding tactics, limiting The Phoenix’s ability to report on school happenings.
As of Sept. 24, a federal judge temporarily lifted the ban on the three news networks, ordering their access be restored, The AP reported. The media outlets have requested an immediate hearing to address their ban from the White House.
The Phoenix stands with CNN, MS NOW and Politico. We stand in support of the journalists involved in the press pool boycott of White House reporting. We stand with The Alestle, with Editor-in-Chief Dylan Hembrough and the reporters ostracized by SIUE on account of their commitment to investigative journalism.
We encourage the journalistic rights of our reporters and students across the country to document the events around them, continuing coverage of school, local or national news.
In the Land of the Free, journalists everywhere must choose to be brave.
Editor’s Note: The Phoenix Editorial Board consists of Editor-in-Chief Julia Pentasuglio, Managing Editor Faith Hug, News Editor Paige Dillinger, Opinion Editor Carlos Soto-Angulo, Arts Editor Allison Treanor and Sports Editor Claire Bovino.
This article is republished by permission of The Loyola Phoenix, the official student newspaper of Loyola University Chicago. See original article.
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