Trump coverage boycott puts US TV networks under probe

The Justice Department is examining whether five television networks broke antitrust law after briefly halting White House pool coverage when reporters from CNN, Politico and MS Now were barred. The inquiry focuses on whether that coordinated pause amounted to a prohibited group boycott under the Sherman Act.US President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters)The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether five major television networks violated federal antitrust laws by briefly suspending their coverage of President Donald Trump after the White House withdrew press credentials from reporters representing three news organisations, including CNN.The networks under scrutiny are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, The New York Times reported. The Justice Department confirmed the investigation on Saturday, saying it was examining whether the broadcasters had violated antitrust laws."Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act," a Justice Department spokesperson said. "The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws."The networks did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. NETWORKS BRIEFLY HALTED WHITE HOUSE POOL COVERAGEThe investigation follows a brief interruption in television pool coverage of Trump after the White House barred reporters from CNN, Politico and MS Now, prompting the networks to stop providing pooled coverage of the president. They later resumed coverage.The White House television pool is a shared arrangement in which participating broadcasters take turns covering the president, coordinate the costs of reporting and distribute footage to other outlets across the country. CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC are among the five organisations that make up the primary television pool.INVESTIGATION CENTRES ON FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAW The Sherman Act, a cornerstone of US antitrust law enacted in 1890, prohibits certain agreements that restrain trade, including some collective boycotts by competing businesses. Whether the networks' actions violated the law remains under investigation; the announcement does not establish that any broadcaster broke the law.- Ends