Washington: President Donald Trump's White House barred several major US media outlets from a daily press briefing on Friday, raising accusations of favoritism.
The White House excluded some outlets that have provided critical coverage like CNN and the New York Times from an off-camera event that replaced the traditional on-camera daily briefing.
Several outlets which were allowed into White House press secretary Sean Spicer's office, include Breitbart, the Washington Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Reuters and Bloomberg..
Much smaller conservative outlets like the One America News Network that have provided favorable coverage did attend.Also Read: Not Against 'Press Freedom' But 'Fake News', Says Donald Trump
Trump earlier decried the media as the "enemy of the people," a day after his top strategist promised relations with the press will get "worse every day."
Trump's attacks on the media are popular with his core supporters.
A number of news outlets that regularly cover the White House as part of the "pool," including newswires Reuters and Bloomberg attended the briefing.
The Associated Press boycotted in protest. AFP protested being excluded, despite being in the "pool," and attended the briefing uninvited.Also Read: Donald Trump Calls Media 'Enemy of the American People'
The White House Correspondents' Association, a non-profit organisation of journalists who cover the White House, sharply criticized the decision.
"The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House," the association's President Jeff Mason said in a statement.
"We encourage the organisations that were allowed in to share the material with others," he added. "The board will be discussing this further with White House staff."
During the off-camera briefing Sean Spicer defended its stance, saying the White House has shown an "abundance of accessibility."
"We've actually gone above and beyond, with making ourselves, our team and our briefing room more accessible than probably any previous administration."
It is not uncommon for Republican and Democratic administrations to brief select reporters, but the event was initially billed as a regular briefing which is open to any credentialed media.
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