ICOT – This administration is trying to punish Fox News by trying to coerce other news media from “following” Fox reporting. This was a result of the Van Jones (one of Obama’s czars who resigned) stories that Fax ran about his past comments and self-identification as communist. After they were embarrassed by their lack of coverage on this story, the New York times for one had met and instructed its reporters to follow more closely what Fox was reporting. The Obama admin reacted fast to dissuade the NYT and others from doing this, and this is the background to their war with Fox beside mere partisanship.
The WHPP’s membership is not something the WH can or should be able to control, and to their credit the other networks chose to stand on principle rather than allow their institution to become compromised due to political pressure and the carrot of getting the better of one of their rival outlets.
This is how true censorship begins, with willing participants among the press, favored media who choose to accept preferred treatment as one or more of their competitors are identified as “enemies” and shut out and discredited. They remain preferred only so long as they do not report the wrong kind of information.
This WH is doing the same thing Richard Nixon did with his “enemies list” – it does not lead to a good place.