Reporter exposes how much Hillary Clinton cares about the First Amendment

‘Limiting Media Access During Presidential Campaign Events:’A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it appears video is not – at least, if you ask one campaign staffer for Hillary Clinton.The former Secretary of State was scheduled to speak in Everett at 12:15 pm Tuesday, with an email sent to media the day before to check-in at 10:45 am. I arrived with my photographer, Mitch Pittman, and our gear, well before the allotted time. We introduced ourselves to Secret Service, shot video outside, and had our gear sniffed by a canine. We had our bags searched, our items picked through, and our bodies wanded. And then we went inside.There, we met Travis Merriweather, identified in emails from the campaign as the media contact for the event.Merriweather informed us we would not have access to the front of the room, which had been cordoned off. “Still cameras” would, he said.When questioned, Merriweather said we would be “rotated in.” But as soon as the event started, he only allowed those so-called “still cameras” forward. He stood firmly next to a barrier to control access — and would not move. Merriweather would allow photographers from newspapers and websites roam freely. He permitted members of the public to walk through, along with people who identified themselves as VIPs. Many carried smart phones, took photos, and shot video with their devices.But Merriweather wouldn’t budge when it came to us – with or without a camera.We pointed out that those “still cameras” – traditionally carried by newspaper photographers – also take video. We alerted him to the fact that members of the public – smart phones in hand – could shoot video, share it, upload it, and the like.He still wouldn’t move. When we pressed, he told us he was “doing us a favor” and to “relax.”We tried to explain this was a First Amendment issue – and he was limiting press access.So Merriweather called over security.That security officer offered to have police escort us out.We took video of what was happening as protection, in case it came to our removal – or worse, our arrest.This is hardly the first time media has been threatened for exercising their right to free press during this highly-contested presidential race.Security choked a photographer for Time magazine at a Virginia rally for Donald Trump in February. At a recent Trump campaign stop in South Florida – at a public park – a newspaper columnist was threatened with arrest for taking video. He was thrown out.And at a Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle this week, media could not roam freely without an ‘escort.’ That includes interviews, trips to the bathroom, and simply walking around.I write this because press freedoms are being limited every time one of these incidents happen. I write this because the more we allow this to occur, the more dangerous it becomes.I write this because when one voice is in silenced, it hurts us all.I write this because something needs to change.If these are the people controlling access to high-profile presidential candidates, who’s to say what they will try to control next? If a picture is worth a thousand words, it certainly wasn’t one we got, limited to a confined space, behind the heads and cell phones of more than a hundred people.And it sure as hell wasn’t the video. –Lindsay Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, whose work has been published by CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and ESPN. She has been recognized with awards from the National Press Photographers Association in her nearly 14 years as a field reporter. She holds a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Posted by Lindsay Cohen on Thursday, March 24, 2016