Trump media ban sparks uproar

An unprecedented legal and journalistic revolt has erupted after US President Donald Trump made a decision to ban three major media organisations from the White House.  
Following the US president’s move to bar reporters from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, major television networks have united to halt their primary pool coverage of presidential events in solidarity, completely disrupting the administration’s independent broadcast pool. 
The White House decision has also prompted major television networks to file a federal lawsuit.
In response to the ban, major broadcast networks comprising the White House press pool—including ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC News—joined in solidarity to suspend their rotation for presidential television coverage. 
Trump showed off his new White House helicopter landing pad on Monday, attempting to brush aside a First Amendment firestorm even as major television networks kept their cameras away in protest of CNN being banned from the grounds.
A light drizzle fell on the South Lawn as Trump used oversized gold scissors to cut a red, white and blue ribbon. He then exchanged handshakes with officials and some members of a construction crew wearing green smocks and hard hats — seeking to portray business as usual.
There may be no live TV of Trump's meetings with foreign leaders at the UN in New York, an annual forum that is closely watched around the world. 
Trump’s move to ban several news outlets from the White House over his dislike of their coverage likely runs afoul of US legal prohibitions against viewpoint discrimination by the government, legal experts told media.   
After announcement of the ban on Friday, Trump on Saturday said he might ban other outlets as well.
The president’s justification for the ban could be its undoing in a legal challenge because US courts have long held that the government cannot condition press access on favorable coverage once it has opened a space to the media, according to legal experts.

"They don’t have to allow anyone in, but once they do, they cannot decide who gets in based on viewpoint or content”, said University of Maryland journalism professor Lucy Dalglish.
In a lawsuit filed in Washington DC, federal court on Monday, CNN, MSNOW and Politico said the ban was unlawful retaliation for legally protected speech under the First Amendment and violated their rights to due process.
“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the outlets said.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who blocked Trump from banning a CNN reporter during his first presidency, scheduled a Wednesday hearing on the outlets’ request for a temporary restraining order blocking the move.
CNN, MSNOW and Politico said in their lawsuit that their reporters had been denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday and were told their so-called hard passes, which are given to vetted and credentialed media representatives, had been deactivated.
The outlets said they were given no advance notice of the ban or opportunity to contest Trump’s decision, which they said violated their right to due process under the Fifth Amendment's protections against unfair treatment by the government.
The government is permitted to restrict reporters if they are deemed security risks but must have a clear basis for doing so and follow established procedures that give reporters the chance to dispute their designation, according to First Amendment lawyer Douglas Mirell.
On Monday evening, the White House launched a streaming channel, "Trump TV," which it said would show "top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time."
When it went online, it was showing archive footage of Trump delivering a speech on 3 July at Mount Rushmore. 
The US president labeled critical mainstream media organisations "FAKE NEWS" that has "grown like Cancer" and called them a threat to national security.