Until Friday, the anti-media rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration had been just that - rhetoric.

But Friday afternoon, it turned into action. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer blocked reporters from a number of news outlets from attending a briefing at his office.

As the New York Times reports -

"Reporters from The Times, BuzzFeed News, CNN, The Los Angeles Times and Politico were not allowed to enter the West Wing office of the press secretary, Sean M. Spicer... Aides to Mr. Spicer only allowed in reporters from a handpicked group of news organizations."

It's not that difficult to see what's going on here.

This was revenge - pure and simple.

All of the news outlets blocked from attending today's briefing have been accused by Donald Trump and his administration of putting out "fake news" - AKA any news that calls into question the administration's extreme right-wing agenda.

So - are we watching a crackdown on the press - American-style?

Or was what happened Friday just a one-off thing and that's being blown out of proportion by mainstream media?

-Thom


(What do you think? Tell us here.)

The Big Picture: Professor Michael Eric Dyson - "Tears We Cannot Stop"



Big Picture Interview: Tears We Cannot Stop

- Professor Michael Eric Dyson, TEARS WE CANNOT STOP: A Sermon to White America/Georgetown University/The New York Times