The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

1
From NPR. We don't need no pesky enemy of the people Journalists asking difficult questions now, do we?

Capitol police won't arrest for contempt of Congress but will act to limit the access of journalists. This is bad.

News organizations and journalists' advocates are challenging restrictive new ground rules for reporters assigned to cover the Senate impeachment trial.

Correspondents who submit to an official credentialing process are granted broad access throughout the Capitol complex and usually encounter few restrictions in talking with members of Congress or others.

But now Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger has imposed new requirements for the impeachment trial, negotiated in part with Republican leadership:

Reporters are being confined to small cordoned-off sections in areas where unrestricted access was typically standard. They are being prevented from walking with senators to continue conversations — even when the senator involved is willingly participating.

Reporters also now may not approach senators for interviews in the halls surrounding the Senate chamber.

Taken together, the new rules effectively prevent members of the press from reaching many senators.
Senators Swear To Render 'Impartial Justice' In Impeachment Trial
Trump Impeachment Inquiry
Senators Swear To Render 'Impartial Justice' In Impeachment Trial

The Capitol is one of the rare places in official Washington where journalists get direct access to newsmakers — in this case, elected officials and their staff members.

Elsewhere, as in the White House or the State Department, for example, reporters' movements are controlled more closely, and access to principals can be severely limited.

The Senate's new security measures are unusually strict, and more restrictive even than the security protocols generally put in place for the annual State of the Union address — which is attended by the president, many members of the Cabinet and Supreme Court. The president is not expected to attend the trial.
Article continues after sponsor message
How The Senate Impeachment Trial Will Work
Trump Impeachment Inquiry
How The Senate Impeachment Trial Will Work

Stenger and the Capitol Police may fear that the additional attention drawn to the Senate impeachment trial may increase risks to members of Congress. But members of the press corps are vetted through a longstanding system and pass through security checks every time they enter the Capitol complex.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is questioned by reporters after a vote. The Senate is constraining access for the impeachment trial.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Nearly 60 news organizations including NPR signed a letter organized by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on Thursday urging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to relax the new restrictions on reporters.

"Absent an articulable security rationale, Senate leaders, the Senate sergeant at arms, and the United States Capitol Police have an obligation to preserve and promote the public's right to know," the letter said. "Reporters must have the ability to respond quickly to rapid developments and need reasonable access to lawmakers who wish to speak to the press."

Patricia Gallagher Newberry, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, faulted the new Senate restrictions because they deny reporters the ability to fully cover a once-in-a-generation spectacle.

"To deny journalists their constitutional right to document the historical events occurring now is a gross injustice to the American people," she said.

"The press is charged with holding the government accountable. It is through its access that the public is informed. When the public is informed, it can make better decisions. The American public should also be outraged about these restrictions."

Angela Greiling Keane, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, warned that the prospect of these continued restrictions could chill reporters' ability to cover big events or even normal business in the Capitol in the future.
Who Are The Impeachment Managers? Diverse Team To Take Lead At Trump Trial
Politics
Who Are The Impeachment Managers? Diverse Team To Take Lead At Trump Trial

"These restrictions set a horrible precedent and reinforce the lie that the news media is dangerous and the 'enemy of the people,' " Keane said. "Congress should be the most accessible institution in government. As the branch closest to the people, it is ironic that these limits only isolate those who are elected to serve."

News organizations that assign correspondents to the Capitol — including NPR — are continuing to negotiate ground rules with Stenger (the sergeant-at-arms) and the Capitol Police.
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/79712642 ... ment-trial
'Sorry stupid people but there are some definite disadvantages to being stupid."

-John Cleese

Re: The Authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capital

2
Now we know what they think of the 1A when it starts to count....

1. Reporters are being confined to small cordoned-off sections in areas where unrestricted access was typically standard. They are being prevented from walking with senators to continue conversations — even when the senator involved is willingly participating.

2. Reporters also now may not approach senators for interviews in the halls surrounding the Senate chamber.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

6
The GOP senate would never allow guns near them or around that area, so they don't seem to believe that more guns makes them safer.

I am literally waiting for the 3A to fall in furtherance of The Wall or something (No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law).
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

8
K9s wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:58 pm The GOP senate would never allow guns near them or around that area, so they don't seem to believe that more guns makes them safer.

I am literally waiting for the 3A to fall in furtherance of The Wall or something (No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law).

Mexican soldiers at the Progreso, TX/Nuevo Progreso, TAM crossing are literally camping in tents in the dirt under the bridge (or they were when I was down there 5 years ago).

I can pretty well guarantee that it won't be wealthy US retirees along the border who would be imposed on. It would be the poor Tex/Mexicans that farm the area.

Re: The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

9
You can bet that Starr and Dershowitz will be on Faux News every day and night giving their propaganda on the impeachment. Can’t have the unvarnished truth to get out without the Faux News slant.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

11
I expect one of the news organizations will file a lawsuit. The media can get some revenge - mention in every TV and newspaper report that they are operating under media restrictions imposed by Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republican leadership. If this was imposed to make sure the jury isn't tainted - senators are not jurors, this is not a legal trial. We know the result.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: The authoritarian noose tightens-Journalists restricted in Capitol

12
highdesert wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:35 pm I expect one of the news organizations will file a lawsuit. The media can get some revenge - mention in every TV and newspaper report that they are operating under media restrictions imposed by Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republican leadership. If this was imposed to make sure the jury isn't tainted - senators are not jurors, this is not a legal trial. We know the result.
It was only instituted to keep media out of the area and from asking questions. I wonder if this is one of those "temporary" restrictions that never goes away? It would not surprise me. That way, GOP Senators could choose the media outlets they want asking questions like the WH does now.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests