Around 100 international media outlets and news organizations, including AFP, called on the Trump administration on Thursday to abandon plans to shorten visas for foreign journalists in the United States, arguing that this would "reduce the quantity and quality of coverage" of American news.

"This would harm America's global standing, rather than strengthen it," write the signatories of an open letter, including the BBC (Great Britain), ZDF (Germany), the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies, and the press rights groups RSF (Reporters Without Borders) and IFJ (International Federation of Journalists).

In late August, Donald Trump's government proposed reducing the length of stay in the United States for foreign students and journalists, as it tightens restrictions on legal immigration to the country.

Foreign journalists would be limited to stays of 240 days, although they could apply for renewals for the same periods. Only Chinese journalists would be limited to 90 days.

Until now, the United States has granted journalists visas of up to five years.

This reduction in visa duration "would disrupt this proven system, create instability for correspondents and their families, and reduce the quantity and quality of coverage from the United States," argue the signatories of the open letter.

"By spending years, not months, in the field, journalists gain the deep knowledge, contacts, and immersion needed to explain America to audiences around the world," they explain.

The proposed reduction in time "risks making the world less informed about American news and current affairs. Rival nations and powerful adversaries (of the country) will rush to fill this void with narratives about the United States that serve their own interests before the truth," the signatories predict.

These include public broadcasters (France Télévisions, Radio France, the Australian ABC, etc.), national newspapers (the Canadian The Globe and Mail, the Irish The Irish Times, etc.) and the Korean Newspaper Association.

AFP