AP executive editor expresses concern about US press freedom

Berlin (dpa) - Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace has expressed concern about declining press freedom in the United States, in an interview with dpa.

"The context that I always look at is the 100 countries that the AP operates in," Pace said. "We work in a lot of places where freedom of the press is not guaranteed. It's not guaranteed by the government, and the press is actively under scrutiny and pressure from governments."

"We have to be honest that we've seen some of those same tactics in the United States. And that's concerning," she added.

US President Donald Trump has launched multibillion-dollar lawsuits against several major media outlets since the start of his second term, including against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. 

White House has restricted access to AP

The White House has restricted access for the Associated Press, one of the world's largest news agencies, after it continued to use the term Gulf of Mexico for the body of water Trump single-handedly renamed Gulf of America. 

AP has filed a lawsuit against the restrictions placed on its work. The news agency is currently awaiting a decision in the appeal process after winning an initial court hearing.

Depending on the outcome, either AP or the US administration could refer the case up through the courts, Pace said in Berlin during a visit to dpa.

"We do think that this is a principle that's worth fighting through the courts," she added, noting that the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.

She said White House access for AP's text reporters remained restricted, although its photographers were still in the so-called pool, a group of journalists that almost always accompanies the president on official duties.

A lot of challenges' delivering the news

Pace said she struggled with Trump's depiction of the media as the "enemy of the people," and the way the idea had taken hold.

"I got into this business because I fundamentally believe that the public has a right to accurate information," the 43-year-old said.

"And so, when someone says: 'You're actually the enemy of the people,' it just completely flips on its head everything I believe in."

Algorithms affecting news priorities

She also expressed concern at the way social media algorithms were deprioritizing news.

"We can be producing as much factual, accurate, transparent journalism as we want. But if the delivery mechanisms for people are not prioritizing that information, then it presents a lot of challenges there," Pace said.

"The one thing that does make me optimistic is that people are consuming information, right? We just have to make sure that we're going to be delivering content in the ways in which they want to consume it."