The White House Correspondents Association on Wednesday night removed a news organization, the conservative One America News Network, from its seat at President Trump’s coronavirus briefings after its reporter disregarded the group’s social-distancing guidelines in the press room.
The WHCA board of directors said it voted “to remove a news outlet from the rotation for a seat in the briefing room.”
“We did this because a reporter for this outlet twice attended press briefings in contravention of this policy,” the board said. “We do not take this action lightly. This is a matter of public safety.”
The notice didn’t identify the news outlet, but OANN reporter Chanel Rion attended Wednesday night’s briefing by standing in the back of the press room, where President Trump called on her. She didn’t have an assigned seat for that particular briefing.
Mr. Trump has complimented her previously for asking questions that he likes, and he has spoken favorably about her network’s coverage of him.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, at least one White House journalist has tested positive for COVID-19. The association has twice reduced seating in the press room, cutting more than half of the room’s capacity to comply with guidelines on social distancing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The group has offered news organizations the opportunity to have an assigned seat occasionally on a rotating basis to prevent crowding. But it has asked reporters to abandon the once-common practice of standing in the aisles if they don’t have a seat.
“Under this policy, we have asked reporters who don’t have a seat not to attend press briefings,” the group said. “We appreciate all your cooperation as we do our part to ensure the safety of the White House press corps and White House staff during this difficult time.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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