Advocates for the free press on Wednesday called on Iowa Senate Republicans to reverse their decision to bar reporters from the floor of the chamber.
“When news of these restrictions broke, it was an immediate red flag, a threat to press freedom and therefore a threat to our democracy,” Terese Grant, president of the League of Women Voters of Iowa. a Statehouse press conference.
The League of Women Voters of Iowa and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa organized the event to protest Senate Republican leaders’ decision to move the media from their traditional seats on the chamber floor to a gallery on the third floor.
“The League of Women Voters wants the press to have direct access to lawmakers so that all Iowans have the most accurate information about the actions and decisions that are made every day” in the US Capitol. state, Grant said.
Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said politicians are “abusing, belittling and harassing, demonizing and dismissing the free press to advance their own agenda, ensuring the public cannot be fully informed. of the work and actions of our government and places our democracy in jeopardy.”
Iowa Capitol Press Association President Erin Murphy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette pointed out that reporters aren’t looking for conflict with lawmakers, but simply trying to restore the access needed to do their jobs.
“It’s a question of responsibility. When we are on the floor, these legislators are accountable to us, and by extension to the people of Iowa. And then we’re accountable to them, they can come to us if they have a concern about a story, an issue that they want to talk about,” Murphy said.
A spokesman for Senate Republican leaders did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, cited difficulty in defining “media” in an effort to allocate limited space in the chamber.
“There are only 12 to 14 seats in the Senate,” Whitver said last week, according to WOI-TV. “As you try to define who is media. Is it television? Is it the radio? Are they newspapers? Are they bloggers? Are they podcasters? There are a lot more people trying to get to those 12 seats.
The Iowa House seated reporters on the floor of the chamber but denied credentials to several bloggers or newsletter producers.
Editor’s note: The staff of the Iowa Capital Dispatch are members of the Iowa Capitol Press Association, and editor Kathie Obradovich is vice president of the association.
