The Alameda County district attorney is under fire from First Amendment advocates who say her office is restricting the freedom of the press.
It comes after a Bay Area journalist claims she was denied access to a news conference attended by a number of other local media outlets, including NBC Bay Area and sister station Telemundo 48.
Emilie Raguso is founder and editor in chief of the online daily news outlet The Berkeley Scanner.
She says despite having an Oakland city-issued press credential, she was denied from covering Wednesday’s press conference with DA Pamela Price.
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“I did tell them it really feels personal because nobody else was getting screened, nobody else was getting checked,” said Raguso who said she was told her credentials were not sufficient.
She said she’s attended similar events in the past, but says, this isn't the first time she has been denied access to Price's office.
In October, she noticed she was taken off the press email list.
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“The office has made it clear to me in the past that I'm not liked there,” said Raguso. “I've asked for many interviews. They've said ‘that's not happening. You're not liked here.’ So that makes it very difficult to think anything is going on other than exclusion because of what I've written in the past.”
Raguso has reported on extensive public criticism of Price's office, including the recall campaign against her and believes that has created a difficult relationship.
Even so, Raguso believes her reporting has been fair and unbiased.
In a statement, Alameda County District Attorney’s Office told NBC Bay Area, “An uninvited person, not on the media list, was turned away for lacking the required media credentials.”
The statement goes on to say Raguso’s credentials are under review and that all media outlets are vetted for security reasons.
According to the office, requirements include an official press credential from a national or local network, or long-standing news publication. They also require newsrooms to have editorial oversight.
“It sends a pretty strong, clear, chilling message to the rest of the press, pretty much, 'you better fall in line or we are going to kick you out of press conferences too' and that is just not how government gets to play the game,” said David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition.
The coalition, along with the Society of Professional Journalists, and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, sent a joint letter to DA Price Thursday asking for her office to make a public commitment that all press will receive equal access.
“The government or elected officials are not required to like or trust the press,” said Loy. “They are required to comply with the First Amendment and honor the Constitution right of freedom of the press. The press does not exist to be friendly with elected officials, the press exists to report the news without fear or favor.”
Raguso hopes it gets resolved soon.
“My main goal is to be able to just get on the press list so I can access this information and attend these events with everybody else,” said Raguso. “If the office is not responsive to that, we'll see what happens next.”
Read Alameda County District Attorney’s Office's full statement bellow:
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office held a media event Wednesday and invited credentialed news media members. An uninvited person, not on the media list, was turned away for lacking the required media credentials. We politely informed that individual that their request to attend press events at the ACDAO remains under review. We also informed this individual that all media outlets are vetted for security reasons before being added to the list.
The credentialed media members allowed into the press event were from the following newsrooms: KTVU, ABC 7 News, Telemundo 48, and KQED.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s office requires all media members to have an official press credential issued by a bonified national news network, local news affiliate, or a long-standing independent news journal. The standards for being a credentialed journalist are also long-standing and predate the election of District Attorney Pamela Price and the first publication of the blog in question. Among those standards is a newsroom with a management structure and editorial oversight.
