Thursday, April 02, 2020 10:10:37 AM
OANN booted from White House press briefings for breaking social distancing rules
By Tamar Lapin April 1, 2020 | 9:05pm | Updated
OANN White House correspondent Chanel Rion breaks the coronavirus social distancing rules agreed upon between the White House and the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) for the second day in a row. Reuters
A news outlet on Wednesday was booted from White House press briefings after one of its reporters broke social-distancing rules put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Access to the briefing room was restricted to about 15 reporters daily under strict guidelines issued last month by White House officials and the White House Correspondents Association. Several smaller news organizations can only rotate into the room once every several days.
But a reporter for the conservative One America News Network appears to have ignored the guidelines, standing in the aisle of the briefing room on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The correspondent, Chanel Rion, on Tuesday was asked to leave the room by a WHCA representative because it wasn’t her day to attend, the Los Angeles Times reported.
She refused and claimed she was there as a guest of White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, according to the LA Times.
The WHCA issued a statement Wednesday evening saying it had voted to ban an 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 statement said.
“We do not take this action lightly. This is a matter of public safety.”
In an email to the Washington Post, OANN founder and chief executive Charles Herring said Rion’s presence “was appropriate” and that she was invited to attend the briefing, though he declined to say who invited her or why.
Rion did not immediately return an email for comment.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/01/oann-booted-from-white-house-press-briefings/
By Tamar Lapin April 1, 2020 | 9:05pm | Updated
OANN White House correspondent Chanel Rion breaks the coronavirus social distancing rules agreed upon between the White House and the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) for the second day in a row. Reuters
A news outlet on Wednesday was booted from White House press briefings after one of its reporters broke social-distancing rules put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Access to the briefing room was restricted to about 15 reporters daily under strict guidelines issued last month by White House officials and the White House Correspondents Association. Several smaller news organizations can only rotate into the room once every several days.
But a reporter for the conservative One America News Network appears to have ignored the guidelines, standing in the aisle of the briefing room on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The correspondent, Chanel Rion, on Tuesday was asked to leave the room by a WHCA representative because it wasn’t her day to attend, the Los Angeles Times reported.
She refused and claimed she was there as a guest of White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, according to the LA Times.
The WHCA issued a statement Wednesday evening saying it had voted to ban an 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 statement said.
“We do not take this action lightly. This is a matter of public safety.”
In an email to the Washington Post, OANN founder and chief executive Charles Herring said Rion’s presence “was appropriate” and that she was invited to attend the briefing, though he declined to say who invited her or why.
Rion did not immediately return an email for comment.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/01/oann-booted-from-white-house-press-briefings/
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