In 2007, Walter Cronkite, an American journalist and broadcaster, proclaimed, “Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.” Despite him saying this nearly 2 decades ago, it has never been more prevalent than now. We’ve grown up in a country that takes pride in its first amendment rights, such as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. It’s been ingrained in our teachings ever since elementary school that these are certain freedoms we as citizens of the United States are entitled to. However, the rise in censorship of both the press and literature in recent years has called into question the right amount of freedom the press should have, and whether or not the government can limit this freedom in any way. In order to sustain the first amendment freedoms the press utilizes every day, the government should not be able to suggest what the press covers, nor censor them, especially in the case of political reporting at the White House.
Most recently, after President Trump took office in January of 2025, multiple well-known press organizations such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Associated Press were taken off of the list of the press allowed a permanent spot in the White House press room, meaning they no longer had full access to White House press events or President Trump. They were rotated in and out of the press room, which severely limited their ability to report on the full truth of what happened in the White House. The Associated Press in particular was banned from the press room in February of 2025 due to their refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” in accordance with President Trump’s executive order. Later on, in early June, an appeals court ruled to lift the ban. However, according to CNN, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press organizations that she and her group would decide on the level of access specific organizations would have, which was a significant change from previous years. Since the 1950s, the White House Correspondents’ Association has been responsible for determining who covers the president and when. They no longer have any control in terms of the press pool at the White House. Allowing the White House administration, a very politically charged and biased group of people to choose what news organizations have access to the president at any given time could lead censorship and freedom of the press down a dangerous path. If the press doesn’t have access to report the truth, then people have limited access to knowledge about the world around them.
The problem, plain and simple, is that attempting to limit three of the biggest press organizations in the US is controlling what news sites can say. It’s absolutely a form of censorship– even if the president isn’t going through prior review and the White House isn’t writing articles for these organizations, they are still being deprived of their access to the same information everyone else has. They’re not able to get first hand information from the event, thus these limitations control what they publish and how, further restricting the American people’s ability to draw conclusions about and understand the world around them.
The censorship we see today has the potential to continue into the future, and force our world into one of complete control with regards to what’s printed and consumed by American citizens. However, it’s important to begin considering possible solutions. One of the most significant things that we as citizens can do is to actively seek out the truth. If we’re truly trying to understand our country, we need to look past news headlines and question everything that’s given to us. Look for multiple sources of information so as not to miss anything. Join initiatives such as the National Coalition Against Censorship, and educate yourself on the censorship happening in your hometown.
On a government level, politicians and other government workers should continually advocate for the press; rather than restricting them, they should be inviting them with open arms. The press and the media are how politicians connect with their citizens. Censoring them limits the amount of people they can reach, and in turn, the amount of votes they gather.
There’s no one solution that will fix the decades of censorship built up in our society, but we can try. Next time you’re reading a banned book or a news article about the White House press room, remember to dig deeper. Remember that when the government censors the press, they’re also limiting you.