Going along with my contention that Congress needs a big outside-the-Beltway tidal wave to smack some sense into them, one of my favorites, David Sirota, is finding it difficult to get credentialing to get around the halls of the Capitol.
Since the congressional press corps' efforts to prevent me from accessing the U.S. Capitol hit the Washington Post last week, the editors of In These Times magazine have submitted formal paperwork to the Periodicals Press Gallery once again requesting a media credential for me and for the magazine's staff. This is especially pressing, since I will be in Washington from April 12 to April 24 to once again try to report my story for the magazine about progressive lawmakers in the new Congress.[..]
This is not a partisan issue, and it's really not about me as an individual. Conservatives like Fred Barnes agree that it is outrageous for Washington reporters to try to deny other reporters access to the U.S. Capitol. It is anti-democratic behavior brought on by traditional journalists trying to create a monopoly in the face of new media threats to their dominance/relevance. And, as some top Hill staffers have noted, the media gatekeepers have doled out far more credentials to right-wing commentators/activists than they have to progressive ones.
You can email the House Periodicals Press Gallery and email the Senate Periodicals Gallery with your opinion on whether they should approve In These Times' request for credentials.
