Springfield, IL. (ECWd) –
Last week Governor Pritzker announced the Daily Briefings would occur through the use of a Press Pool. A Press Pool is typically where the Press chose one among themselves who will attend the briefing in person, while those left on the outside have access to all the same information and photos/videos as the Pool reporter inside the room. Illinois uses this method in its Circuit Court Extended Media Coverage program.
For the Governor’s Briefings, reporters are given a daily email containing login credentials where they can text message any questions for the governor or his staff, which will be asked by the pool reporter in the room, on behalf of the reporter not in the room.
Three times this week we have asked the Governor’s Press Secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, to add us to the list of Media receiving those login credentials.
As has been the norm for the past couple of months, Abudayyeh hasn’t even bothered to acknowledge a question or request that has been sent to her. She hasn’t added us to the daily email blast either.
We believe either Governor Pritzker or Jordan Abudayyeh are purposely restricting access to this question submitting process and wonder why Abudayyeh would take these steps to infringe on the free speech and equal access rights of reporters, and their ability to ask text questions alongside other reporters within and without the State of Illinois.
Denial of access cannot be tolerated and we urge Governor Pritzker to direct his Press Secretary to honor all requests for login credentials.
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3 Responses
It’s obviously amateur hour for both the Governor and his pitiful excuse for a press secretary. Neither seems to have a library card, so will someone please loan them a copy of the Bill of Rights. Better highlight the first few amendments too or we’ll all have troops quartered in our homes with his next “Phase” plan. You may have to read it aloud to both of them, in case they are products of the public school system.
A clear and convincing disservice to local government is apparent in Ms. Abudayyeh’s screen. As indicated by the Governor’s first state of the state address; the ECWd’s were already aligned with his call for ethics reform, and were delivering results long before the Governor’s coronavirus response and daily updates commenced.
Then, two in-person agencies took to the Governor’s stage to screen questions from and for the public. Ms. Abudayyeh may have been one of these two persons. However, Ms. Abudayyeh failed the Governor’s call for ethics reform by excluding and/or ignoring the ECWd’s requests to participate in these daily updates.
Now, since the time of Governor Pritzker’s self-quarantine, daily updates are conducted virtually. Reporting interests are reduced from two pools, to one; giving Ms. Abudayyeh an otherwise exclusive screen. That reduction along with Ms. Abudayyeh’s prior exclusion of Mr. Kraft and Mr. Allen’s agency now draws into question the veracity of the Governor’s stage.
What do you think, we have freedom of the press or something?