The White House has barred several major broadcasters and newspapers from attending an informal press briefing.
The BBC, CNN, the New York Times and others were excluded from an audience with Press Secretary Sean Spicer, with no reason given.
It came hours after President Donald Trump delivered another attack on the media in a speech, saying that "fake news" was the "enemy of the people".
He has previously singled out CNN and the New York Times for criticism.
Recent reports claiming his campaign aides had contact with Russian intelligence officials have particularly irked the president.
Shortly after Mr Trump's speech on Friday, a number of selected media organisations were invited into Mr Spicer's office for an informal briefing, or "gaggle".
Those allowed into the room included ABC, Fox News, Breitbart News, Reuters and the Washington Times.
When asked why some were excluded, Mr Spicer said it was his decision to "expand the pool" of reporters.
He also warned the White House was going to "aggressively push back" at "false narratives" in the news.
Politico, Buzzfeed and the Daily Mail were also left out, but CNN was the only major US television network to be denied entry.
Image copyright Image caption
The Associated Press, USA Today and Time magazine refused to attend as a protest.
The BBC's bureau chief in Washington, Paul Danahar, said the BBC has a representative at every daily White House briefing and it was not clear why they were barred from Friday's session.
New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said it was the first time such an exclusion had happened in the newspaper's history.
A White House spokeswoman said they had invited a group which included all journalists in the press pool, which shares information with other reporters
"We decided to add a couple of additional people beyond the pool. Nothing more than that," Sarah Sanders said.During the briefing, Mr Spicer addressed reports that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had asked the FBI to publicly dispute media stories about contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
He said Mr Priebus had little choice but to seek assistance in rejecting what Mr Spicer said were inaccurate reports. The FBI did not issue the statement requested.
Mr Trump has been dogged by claims of alleged links to Moscow since his presidential campaign.
The president asked for national security adviser Michael Flynn's resignation last week after he misled Vice-President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's ambassador during the transition.
The White House Correspondents' Association says it is "protesting strongly" about how the press briefing was handled by the White House.
A man has died and two other people were hurt after a man drove into a pedestrian area in Heidelberg, Germany. Image copyright AP Image caption The motives for the attack are unclear, police say The attacker, who was believed to have been armed with a knife, was shot and injured by police in a brief standoff after fleeing the scene on foot. His motives are unclear, but there are no indications this was a terrorist attack, police say. In December an Islamist attacker drove a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49. In Heidelberg the attacker, described as a 35-year-old German, drove what is thought to be a rental car into pedestrians in one of the city's central squares, injuring three people. One of them, a 73-year-old German man, later died in hospital. The attacker then left the car but was tracked down, shot and seriously injured by police near an old swimming pool. Police were unable to confirm local media reports that the attacke...
6 hours ago From the section Europe Share Image copyright HAZTE OIR Image caption Catholic group Hazte Oir claims its bus is just stating biological facts A judge has backed Madrid's decision to force a bright orange bus emblazoned with an anti-transgender message off its roads. Jose Juan Escalonilla said the bus could not move until the slogans, including "if you are born a man, you are a man", were removed. The bus belongs to Catholic group, Hazte Oir, which had planned to take it on a nationwide tour of Spanish cities. The public prosecutor is investigating whether it is a possible hate crime. Other messages on the side of the bus state "boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled" and "if you are a woman, you will continue to be one". Mr Escalonilla did not find the bus went as far as being a hate crime. However, he said he believed the bus was an "act of contempt" meant to "injure...
China piles pressure on North Korea by banning coal imports 18 February 2017 From the section China Share Image copyright GETTY IMAGES China is suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of efforts to increase pressure on the country over its latest missile test. China's commerce ministry said the ban would operate until the end of 2017. It follows reports last week that China had rejected a shipment of North Korean coal worth $1m (£806,000; €942,100). The ban brings China, North Korea's only ally, closer to fully implementing tough sanctions aimed at stopping Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. Coal is North Korea's biggest export, with its shipments to China a mainstay of the country's fragile economy. The latest development comes just days after the suspicious killing of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, Kim Jong-nam, at an airport in Malaysia. Kim, who was largely estranged from his...
Comments
Post a Comment