The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News violated antitrust laws by temporarily suspending joint television coverage of President Donald Trump. The networks' decision was made in September, after the White House revoked the credentials of journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
The investigation was confirmed on Saturday, October 10, by Emily Covington, spokesperson for the Department of Justice, according to Associated Press. Covington explained that collective boycotts among commercial competitors may violate the Sherman Act, a federal regulation against practices that restrict competition, and specified that the Antitrust Division is examining whether the chains violated this legislation. The initiation of the investigation does not imply that a violation has been proven.
On Friday, October 9, the Department of Justice contacted the five networks to request communications and materials related to the White House's shared television coverage system, according to information from The New York Times reported in a statement from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press published on Saturday.
Why did the networks suspend shared coverage?
The so-called pool system of the White House allows a group of networks to take turns recording specific events and movements of the president, distributing the footage to other media outlets. This mechanism shares the costs and facilitates access to events where there isn't space for all television crews.
The conflict began in September when the Trump administration revoked access to the White House for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. The president accused those outlets of spreading false information, while the affected parties legally challenged the exclusion, claiming it violated their constitutional rights.
In response, the five networks that make up the shared television system temporarily ceased providing that coverage. This measure affected the operation of the pool, but it did not mean that all news broadcasts from those networks were suspended. Subsequently, federal judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary order that allowed for the reinstatement of the credentials of the three excluded outlets. The legal battle over journalists' access continues, according to information published by CBS News.
The joint television coverage of the president has resumed, according to Associated Press. Therefore, the investigation announced now pertains to the suspension in September and not to an ongoing boycott.
The response of the advocates for press freedom
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, questioned the purpose of the investigation. In his statement on October 10, he argued that the actions of the Department of Justice appeared to be a pretext to obtain records from networks regarding their coverage decisions during the government-imposed veto.
Brown defended that these editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and described the recourse to antitrust legislation as another attempt to intimidate journalists. This is about the assessment of that organization, not a judicial conclusion regarding the reasons for the investigation.
The case presents two perspectives: the Department of Justice claims it must determine if there was coordination that violates antitrust laws, while press advocacy organizations warn of the risk of using this investigation to influence editorial decisions. So far, there has been no proven violation of the Sherman Act, nor has any sanction been announced against the five networks.
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