AG news conference dispute raises questions about journalist access | State News
INDIANAPOLIS — Political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz says he was turned away from a news conference conducted by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on Thursday despite holding media credentials.
Shabazz, editor and publisher of Indy Politics and an attorney, received an invitation to the news conference about robocalls and sent back his RSVP in time, according to his column Thursday, which raises questions about fair media access.
The Indiana attorney general’s office did not return an email for comment Friday.
Shabazz and Rokita had a civil relationship until a Republican primary debate during Rokita’s unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2018, according to Shabazz’s column. When it was announced that Shabazz would be leading the discussion, Rokita at first backed out. He claimed he did not want to participate if Shabazz was the one leading the debate, calling him biased.
Shabazz said he was turned away from Thursday’s news conference by Rokita’s press secretary for not being “credentialed media,” despite holding a press badge issued by the Indiana Department of Administration.
State and local governments cannot limit or deny public or media access to public forums, according to the Reporter’s Committee’s First Amendment Handbook. Nonetheless, a 2013 study found “that one out of every five respondents who applied for a credential was denied by a credentialing organization at least once. Moreover, certain categories of applicants are more likely to be denied than others,” including freelance journalists.
Shabazz was denied entry even though he had the credential, he wrote. “If I wasn’t credentialed media, why did I get a news advisory and a news release? And why would Rokita’s office subscribe to my Cheat Sheet (newsletter) if I didn’t have some credentials?”
Brandon Pope, a broadcast journalist and Ball State University alum who is president of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, said journalists are being attacked right now, which can be attributed to President Donald Trump and those who subscribe to the same negative beliefs about the press.
He said it is vital that government officials understand that freedom of the press is crucial to a healthy society and the First Amendment.
“It’s important that we maintain access, especially to someone who already has a credential,” he said. “It makes no sense to bar access to someone that already has a credential.”
Pope also said that without Black journalists in the room, there cannot be full coverage.
“If you don’t have any Black reporters or Black journalists covering, you’re doing the Black people in that state and in that area a disservice,” he said. “Our voices do matter.”
Haley Pritchett is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
