News agencies decry restrictions as White House picks who covers Trump

Three major international news wire agencies have called steps by the White House to limit their access to the pool covering US President Donald Trump a threat to the independence of the press.

On Tuesday, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which of them cover US presidential events, with Trump boasting that he was now “calling those shots” on media access.

“It is essential in a democracy for the public to have access to news about their government from an independent, free press,” said a statement signed by the editorial heads of Reuters, Bloomberg News and Associated Press.

“We believe that any steps by the government to limit the number of wire services with access to the President threatens that principle.”

The press pool is a small group of reporters that covers the US president in cramped spaces, particularly the Oval Office, and shares their material with other news organisations.