Wyoming lawmakers rescind rules change that would have restricted media access in the Capitol

CHEYENNE — Lawmakers unanimously voted Thursday to rescind a previously voted-on rules change that prohibited photojournalists’ access to the chamber floors during legislative session.

Last month, members of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process voted four to two in favor of a policy change that barred photojournalists’ access to the hallways on the chamber floor.

This issue grabbed the attention of news outlets across the state, which re-sparked the conversation during the committee’s Thursday meeting in Cheyenne.

Previous arguments in support of the rules change claimed there was too much traffic in the chamber’s halls and that it was in the best interest of the governing body to remove photojournalists. Lawmakers also reasoned that mounted cameras livestreaming the session still provided some visual access, and photojournalists could take pictures from the gallery that overlooked the lawmakers below.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, one of the members who voted in favor of the new rules, said Thursday that he was a supporter, but “not a strong supporter.” He explained that the arguments in favor of the rules change were good, and there wasn’t much objection to it at the time.

“Since that time, obviously, there have been serious concerns that have been raised, and I don’t think the value of this policy change rises to a level that justifies overcoming concerns that have been raised,” Rothfuss said.

On an anecdotal note, Legislative Service Office Director Matt Obrecht said there’s typically only one photojournalist at a time in the chamber’s halls.

LSO Deputy Administrator of Operations Anthony Sara concurred with Obrecht’s statement, adding that the photojournalists are good about policing themselves. Policy restricts them from lingering in the area, he said, and there’s never more than one or two photojournalists back there at a time.

“We don’t have people piled up on each other, taking photos at those doors,” Sara said.

Freedom of the press

WyoFile Chief Executive and Editor Matthew Copeland was the sole media representative who testified against the rule change before lawmakers Thursday.

“On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Wyomingites who rely on our reporting, I’d like to say that any restriction to press access in the Capitol is a restriction on the people’s access to the government that represents them,” Copeland said.

He read out loud the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits Congress from making any law “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

Transparency and accountability provided through the press is critical to holding government accountable, Copeland said.

“These are not my ideas. They come straight from America’s founders,” Copeland said. “They are enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Restricting photojournalists’ access from the chamber floor, he said, limited the freedom of the press. In response to the argument that mounted cameras and microphones capture the movement of lawmakers on the ground, Copeland said this technology “omit (s) all of the context happening around the individual microphone.”

“Who’s huddling together in the corner, who’s bouncing their leg in agitation, who’s furiously scribbling notes, who’s nodding in approval or shaking their head in opposition, who’s busy texting on their phone,” Copeland said. “The people of Wyoming have a right to know.”

Before Copeland’s testimony, members of the committee briefly discussed the idea of having internal legislative staff take photos for the media.

Sen. Cale Case, R-Casper, however, pushed back on this, saying he couldn’t imagine the Legislature’s own internal photos substituting the news process of photojournalists.

“By trying to remove photographers off the floor, we’ve cut into that realism and connection,” Case said. “We’ve isolated ourselves from the press.”