Trump White House reporter ban returns to court as temporary block expires

The legal fight over the Trump administration's ban on reporters from CNN, MSNBC and Politico has returned to court. A judge temporarily blocked the ban last month, but that order expires today. The three outlets are challenging the president's decision to bar their reporters from White House access.

President Donald Trump has said the outlets provide relentless negative coverage and has called them fake news. He says he wants real news, not fake news. The ban has raised questions about press access, free speech and whether the White House can exclude outlets it dislikes.

A panel discussion on the case heard strong criticism of the ban. Allister Heath, editor of the Sunday Telegraph, said Trump was wrong to try to ban Politico and the others from his press conferences. He said journalists must be free to scrutinise politicians, and that politicians should face questions from media of every political persuasion. He expected the US courts to strike the ban down. He also said new media players should have full access and that there should not be excessive barriers for new entrants.

Kevin Craig, a public affairs executive and former Labour councillor, called the ban outrageous and un-American. He compared it to a Labour government banning the Sunday Telegraph from the press lobby, saying that would be unimaginable in Britain. He said the move was likely to be overturned, pointing out that one judge who had already ruled against it was a Trump appointee.

The discussion also covered the wider media landscape. Panellists said outlets such as CNN and the New York Times had gained a huge amount from Trump's presidency because he dominates the news. They described a symbiotic relationship between parts of the American media and Trump, even when coverage is hostile. They also said leaders around the world are changing how they communicate with voters and that legacy media need to modernise.

Heath rejected the idea that Trump had a reasonable excuse to ban the outlets. He noted that the president can already speak directly to millions of people through his own social media platforms. The case now returns to the courts as the temporary protection for the banned reporters comes to an end.