McNamee, WM. (2014) “White House Press Briefing” [Photo]. Getty Images

The Associated Press (AP) was recently banned from the White House after refusing to use the name “Gulf of America” in their articles. Not long after, the White House secretary announced President Donald Trump will determine which reporters receive access to press privileges in the Oval Office.

In a public statement, the AP senior vice president Julie Pace states, “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism.”

The AP paper has an important status throughout the journalism world. The AP stylebook is a globally used guide for student and professional journalists. Unlike Fox News or CNN, the Associated Press is globally observed. If AP reporters were to refer to the body of water as the “Gulf of America,” it would likely create confusion for the general international reader.

This decision has created major frustration amongst the Trump administration.

Notably, many journalist organizations are siding with the AP’s free speech right. Even Fox News, a historically right-leaning newspaper, has sided with the AP’s rights.

With these recent events, the government has proved itself to be unaccepting and disinterested in truthful media coverage.

The act of portraying a government as solely positive does not align with the ethics of journalism. After all, the concept of reporting for the general people’s benefit is one of the first lessons learned as a student journalist.

This clash between government and media is greatly important for student journalists to pay attention to. There’s a fight for truthful reporting. These current events have represented a cry for what the media stands for: honesty, diversity, and ethics. This state of American journalism should not deter the pursuit of journalism, but instead inspire students to practice freedom of the press.

Not only student journalists, but young Americans as well should pay attention to the events and aspects surrounding this issue. Younger generations already struggle to fish out truthful media and information. The question is how they will adapt to the filtering of news by the government.

Overall, we are witnessing unknown territory of American journalism. This does not solely affect journalists but media consumers as well as they try to sort through the continuous flow of information and narratives being thrown at them. More is most likely still to come on the changing landscape of White House media.

Resources:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5307243/ap-trump-lawsuit-gulf-of-america-mexico
https://apnews.com/article/ap-lawsuit-trump-gulf-mexico-america-6b6fba488e7e420e5fcd28c44a755922