TV broadcasters banned from White House

The solidarity being shown by Fox News has a precedent, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explains:

“In the autumn of 2009, Barack Obama’s government was locked in a dispute with Fox News. … The Treasury Department tried to exclude the channel from a pool interview with Kenneth Feinberg, the official responsible for managing top managers’ earnings following the financial crisis. At the time, the other broadcasters refused to accept this. CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC rallied around Fox News and announced that they would not take part in the interview. The Obama administration relented. Then as now, it was not the other broadcaster’s stance that was being defended but freedom of the press. Because what hurts your competitors today can be turned against your own outlet tomorrow.”