Peter H. Lewis of Asheville Watchdog examined which media outlets received credentials for the G20 finance summit in the western North Carolina city and which did not.
Lewis writes, “In addition to the Watchdog, rejection letters also went out to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. (The Watchdog’s reporter was formerly assistant financial editor and a longtime business reporter at The New York Times.)
“In an interview Sunday with the Associated Press (which was granted press credentials), Bessent said the rejection of certain journalists and media outlets “has nothing to do with point of view.”
“Yet, media outlets granted access to top Trump administration officials at the summit include The Blue Ridge Times, the North State Journal, The Daily Wire, Breitbart News Network, Fox Business Network, and Sinclair Broadcast Group, all of which offer readers news and analysis from a conservative perspective.
“Locally, reporter access was granted to the Asheville Citizen Times, Sinclair-owned WLOS-TV, and Blue Ridge Public Radio.
“’Shutting selected journalists out of the G20 is another example of this administration trying to control coverage and penalize news organizations for reporting that is accurate and protected by the First Amendment,’ said Watchdog Editor-in-Chief Michael Stowe.
“The Watchdog reported recently that as of a few months ago the administration has provided Asheville and North Carolina only 13 percent of the requested federal assistance for the $59 billion in damages from Helene, compared with more than 50 percent federal reimbursements for major disasters under previous administrations.”
Read more here.
