Press Membership Rules Remain Sticking Point
Seeking Reprieve From Some Congressional Press Gallery Requirements
May 18, 2009
At issue are eligibility for membership in the congressional press galleries and whether some existing rules merit review. Separate galleries issue credentials to radio and television broadcasters and to daily newspapers. The Periodical Press Gallery handles accreditation for magazines, newsletters, non-daily newspapers, and online publications.
Responsibility for this process alternates between the House and Senate press galleries.
Press Gallery Membership Comes With Restrictions
To qualify for gallery membership, applicants cannot be lobbyists or members of any advocacy organization, they must reside in the Washington area, and distribute their information to the public. Among those now excluded from membership are non-profit groups through the requirement that periodicals be published for profit and most of their income must come from advertising and circulation revenue.
The Center for Independent Media, a non-profit that funds Web sites doing investigative news reporting, and Free Press, a group supporting changes in media policy, are working jointly to urge the press galleries to permit non-profits to be credentialed.
Complications in evaluating membership eligibility also have arisen regarding the Pew and Kaiser foundations, both of which have news organizations, noted Jerry Gallegos, superintendent of the House Press Gallery. A determination must be made whether a firewall exists between the foundations and their news outlets, he said.
Interpretation of Rules Leads to Newspaper’s Exclusion
Sometimes the standards can be overly stringent, in the opinion of Gallegos. For years the Stars and Stripes newspaper that reports on military news was a member of the gallery. It operates from within the Defense Department but is editorially separate from the department. “There have been times when the military has tried to spike some of its stories and it hasn’t been able to,” he said.
Nonetheless, the members of the gallery decided to bar Stars and Stripes because the publication is owned by a domestic government agency. Gallegos has no vote on the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which is elected from among reporters who belong to the gallery and decides on gallery membership, but he disagreed with that decision. The House speaker has ultimate authority over the galleries even though the press runs the operation. Stars and Stripes has not made an issue of its exclusion, Gallegos said, although a number of war veterans who are reporters oppose its removal from the gallery.
The growing prevalence of online participants has sometimes muddied the question of what is a legitimate news provider. The Huffington Post, which is a member of the gallery, is known for its left of center opinions but has a news entity. Some of its writers, who have been lobbyists or active in Democratic Party politics, have been turned down for membership, Gallegos said.
However, he termed Thomas Edsall, political editor of the Huffington Post, as “probably their best reporter” and someone who has earned his credentials to be in the gallery. Edsall previously worked for the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post, is the author of several books, and as a member of the standing committee has written some of the membership rules.
Call for Creation of Online Media Gallery
Bloggers too have pushed in recent years to cover Congress. “The House and Senate press galleries take their marching orders from mainstream journalists, who have little incentive to invite enterprising bloggers to their coveted stomping grounds,” Robert Bluey wrote in an op-ed piece, “Give Bloggers Capitol access,” in The Hill on April 30, 2007. “A much-overdue solution would be to create an Online Media Gallery to oversee the credentialing process.”
Even with the challenges to some of the gallery practices, those who want to report on Congress know that having credentials gives them unique access and a coveted vantage point. As members, writers and correspondents additionally are granted guest privileges in the speaker’s lobby for speaking directly with lawmakers. During a major vote, it is far more advantageous for reporters to be inside the House chamber and witness what is taking place off camera, Gallegos said. That may include negotiations with certain members over votes, something visible only from the press gallery overlooking the chamber.
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