DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria is deciphering a legal battle where the Ministry of Justice is defending before a federal judge the exclusion of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, while American jurists deem the measure doomed to fail in court.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to reject the request from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to restore their White House credentials.
- 02
Professor Lucy Dalglish asserts that a government having opened a space to the press cannot condition access on favorable coverage, and that Judge Timothy Kelly had already blocked a previous exclusion.
- 03
The editorial oversight committee created for CNN and CBS News as part of the Paramount Skydance acquisition is deemed "toothless" by former journalist Dan Gillmor and called a "fig leaf" by Kara Swisher.
ANALYSIS
Pretoria, Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The American justice system is dealing with a dispute that, according to the South African press, goes beyond a mere media coverage quarrel. Before a federal judge in Washington, the Department of Justice is defending the legality of Donald Trump's decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, after the president deemed their reports "fake news". The three newsrooms, in a complaint filed on Monday, denounce "a direct attack on the First Amendment" and a violation of their right to due process.
Four legal experts cited believe the government's position is fragile. Professor Lucy Dalglish, from the University of Maryland, recalls a consistent jurisprudence: "They don't have to let anyone in, but once they have, they can't decide who enters based on their viewpoint or content." Federal Judge Timothy Kelly, who had already blocked a previous exclusion decided by Trump, is in charge of the case. The White House, however, maintains that the banned media outlets "are perfectly capable of reporting from the outside", adding that "these lies are tearing apart the very fabric of our democracy". Trump also warned on Saturday that he could ban other media outlets.
The South African press is linking this episode to a second case: the editorial oversight committee promised for CNN and CBS News as part of the acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery by Paramount Skydance, owned by David Ellison, following an agreement concluded on Monday with a coalition of twelve US states and a union of Hollywood screenwriters. This committee, composed of five seasoned journalists, is to "establish guiding journalistic principles" for the merged entity; but its members will be appointed and paid by Ellison himself, and the binding nature of its decisions remains unclear. Here as well, skepticism prevails. Former journalist Dan Gillmor already judges it "toothless", while journalist Kara Swisher, who says she wants to leave CNN "as soon as possible", describes the body as a "fig leaf". Both cases, the lawsuit against the White House and editorial governance, raise for South African readers the same question: who in the United States still guarantees the independence of newsrooms confronted simultaneously with political power and their own shareholders.
