Real America’s Voice (RAV) is taking the White House press pool straight to the public, launching a free service that gives news organizations, independent journalists – and ordinary Americans – access to presidential coverage once largely distributed through major media outlets.
The network recently launched RAVPool.org [1], offering a presidential pool feed along with real-time pool notes, photos, videos, daily guidance and email alerts at no charge.
The move follows the decision by several major television networks’ decision to suspend shared pool coverage amid the battle over President Donald Trump’s restrictions on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
Rather than joining the walkout like other media outlets did, RAV stepped up to cover the president – and is now making that material available to everyone.
A White House press pool is a small rotating group of journalists assigned to follow the president when it isn’t practical for the entire press corps to attend. Pool reporters send notes and updates to the broader media, while television pool crews provide shared video and other material that news organizations can use without each outlet having its own camera crew in the room.
Radio talk show host and RAV host Steve Gruber has been discussing the controversy on both The Steve Gruber Show and America’s Voice Live on RAV.
Before RAVPool.org launched, Gruber argued [2] that the administration’s formal ban of the three outlets was probably not the best approach because of the constitutional questions it created. But he also questioned a system in which a relatively small group of major media organizations exercises enormous control over what presidential footage reaches Americans.
“The answer should not be replacing one closed system with another,” Gruber said. “It should be expanding transparency wherever security and logistics allow.”
That is essentially what RAVPool.org is now attempting to do. It’s real reporting without the leftist- biased filter. On America’s Voice Live, Gruber has highlighted the service as providing unfiltered White House pool video, notes and the president’s schedule free to the public.
The dispute ultimately involves two separate issues: the government’s authority to control physical access to the president and whether that authority can be exercised based on an outlet’s coverage. Courts have previously held that once press access is established, the government faces constitutional limits on excluding journalists based on viewpoint.
The legal questions surrounding White House press access were discussed on The Steve Gruber Show with Michigan constitutional attorney David Kallman on Sept. 24. The interview focused on the fight over whether and under what circumstances the White House can restrict particular news organizations.
Kallman agreed with Gruber that the press doesn’t have unfettered access to the president but said, according to case law, the problem he’s got is that once the forum is opened up, they (the White House) can set reasonable rules but have to apply neutrally to everyone.
RAVPool.org cuts out the traditional media middleman: Americans no longer necessarily need a television network to decide which portions of pool coverage they get to see. Local television stations can use it. Independent journalists can use it. Digital creators can use it. And viewers can go directly to the source.
Meanwhile, the legal fight is not over. On Sept. 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order requiring the White House to restore access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the three outlets challenged their exclusion in federal court. The temporary order runs through Oct. 8 and does not decide the underlying lawsuit. The news organizations are seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent the White House from reinstating the restrictions while the case proceeds.
The bottom line is that White House press access shouldn’t come with a preferred-media list. The government shouldn’t punish outlets because it dislikes their coverage, and legacy media organizations shouldn’t receive preferential treatment simply because they have traditionally controlled the pool.
If reasonable rules are necessary for security and logistics, those rules should be applied evenly. Beyond that, the goal should be simple: allow more journalists to cover the president, give no outlet special status and let Americans decide for themselves what they want to watch, read and believe.