Oh boy! White House excludes news outlets including CNN and New York Times from briefing

The White House has excluded several news outlets from a media briefing, leading to accusations Donald Trump is retaliating for unwelcome reporting.

Among organisations denied access were CNN, the New York Times, Politico, the Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed.

Those selected to attend included Fox and NBC, and conservative media organisations such as The Washington Times.

CNN attacked the block, saying: "This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House.

"Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don't like. We'll keep reporting regardless."

Sky News reporting from Maryland, where Mr Trump was speaking, said: "Both CNN and the New York Times have been quite critical of Donald Trump, quite questioning of his policies.

"It seems he has really escalated that fight with the media."

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet wrote: "Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties.

"We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organisations.

"Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest."

The White House Correspondents Association also complained.

"The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House," the organisation said.

The meeting was an off-camera session known as a "gaggle", which is less formal than the televised question and answer sessions.

The White House defended the move, claiming there was "a pool of journalists" who could relay information to others.

During the briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer said the White House had shown an "abundance of accessibility".

"We've actually gone above and beyond, with making ourselves, our team and our briefing room more accessible than probably any previous administration," he said.

It is not uncommon for Republican and Democratic administrations to brief select reporters.

But the event was initially billed as a regular briefing which is open to any credentialed media.

Earlier, Mr Trump again laid into the media, describing many journalists as "the enemy of the people".

"They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources," Mr Trump said.

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