Trumpet voluntary

In an unprecedented move, the pool  (which also includes NBC, ABC, CBS as well as Fox News), ceased recording and transmitting White House footage from the previous Monday, in solidarity with CNN, MS Now and Politico, which had been banned by Mr Trump over what he said was “their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS”.

This information was all over social media.

The decision meant that, for much of this week, there was no high-quality pool footage of White House events and the president’s movements, though some smaller outlets attempted to provide coverage.

With the pool still inactive on Thursday afternoon, that meant the summit with Xi Jinping, China’s President, would not have received video coverage on the leading television networks. ABC had been listed as the TV pooler for the day, but held off until the network received assurances that CNN would be let back into the pool.

Even without them (at the start), the summit was less than perfect for news journalists because Mr Trump staged tightly choreographed photo opportunities, and was overheard by photographers praising the friendliness and deference of Chinese journalists in Mr Xi’s entourage.

American news organisations that had been banned from the White House for displeasing Mr Trump were suing the president even as the visit unfolded, as Mr Xi doubtless knew, though his poker face gave nothing away.

Tensions between the TV media and the administration reached a high (or LOW!) point on Thursday evening, when journalists for CNN and MS Now were denied access to the White House state dinner in honour of Mr Xi. The journalists were blocked despite a ruling earlier in the day from a federal judge who granted a request by CNN, MS Now and Politico to force the White House to restore their access for the next two weeks while the case played out.

Although television networks remain apprehensive, a producer for CBS confirmed that the network would be serving as the TV pooler for the day as scheduled, according to a document obtained by The Guardian. “The plan is to return covering the President in a normal capacity with a full crew”, the document read.

Pamela Brown, a CNN anchor, told viewers on Friday morning: “CNN’s access to the White House has been restored, and the TV pool appears to be functioning as normal”.

The resumption ends (for now) an extraordinary standoff between the US’s biggest media companies and the Trump administration that led to an effective TV blackout of coverage of the President during the United Nations (UN) general assembly.

For decades, the five networks have shared the cost and responsibility of providing footage of the President that is carried by news outlets worldwide.

Pool subscribers had originally received a note on Monday from Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who is now serving as the TV pool chair, saying that it would cease operations.

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties”, he wrote in a memo. “There will be no replacement pool put in place”.

The resumption of service is good ‘news’ (as it were), although it is only temporary – and it puts centre stage the importance of journalists in reporting significant events…