OLYMPIA—In a voice-only vote, the Washington State Senate on Wednesday, March 27, overwhelmingly adopted a rule within its last four weeks of the Legislative Session to restrict members of the press from “the wings” and adjacent areas of the of the Senate unless accompanied by a sitting senator or senator’s staff member. The members of the press are now confined to a “press table” subject to capacity constraints. The Washington State House is also considering a similar rule change.
“I am extremely disappointed that some Senators felt this was alright,” wrote Ellen Haitt, Executive Director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “It’s not ok to limit access to the press. We are already suffering from a dramatic reduction in members of the media available to cover the legislative session. The WNPA hopes the Senate includes the press association along with other legacy media organizations with a long history of providing quality journalism to the state’s citizens in that decision making process.”
Over the last two decades, Washington state has seen a roughly two-thirds decline in journalists to 1,800 representing some 100 news outlets according to Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times.
To address growing news deserts throughout the state and dwindling coverage of legislation being proposed and passed by the State Legislature, Senators Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines) and Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) successfully in 2023 championed a $2.4 million journalism fellowship program with the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Last year, the first eight journalism fellows began their two-year assignments, in which only one was assigned to cover the 2025 state legislative session (two others by the University of Washington) after the concept for an Olympia journalism bureau fell through.
“Those who are there need to be able to connect in meaningful and timely ways to our elected officials,” Haitt said. “This can ultimately not serve the interests of the public. I would ask every representative and senator to consider, instead, to sign the pledge offered by the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WashCOG) to commit to transparency. To date, only seven have signed it. Why is that?”
Of the seven legislators who have signed WashCOG’s pledge is Senator Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) who told the Lynnwood Times that he supported the rule change, SR-8638, that was sponsored by Senator Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond).
“The Capitol Correspondents Association (CCA) has for many years determined who does and does not receive credentials to cover the Legislature. The CCA, under threat of legal action from bloggers and others not employed by traditional broadcast and print media, decided to cease self-governance. That left the responsibility with the legislature,” Senator Pedersen explained.
On February 19, an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP sent a demand letter to the CCA, specifically political state news journalist Jerry Cornfield who managed press credentials for the CCA, stemming from a credential dispute involving independent journalist Jonanthan Choe and political correspondent Brandi Kruse.
Choe is a Senior Journalism Fellow at Discovery Institute, covering the state’s homeless and drug crisis and is a Seattle bureau reporter for Newsmax and the lead investigative reporter for Frontlines Turning Point USA. He appears on Fox News national regularly and his news pieces this year have been accepted to the national Emmy Awards and the Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Kruse is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, political commentator, and host of the podcast unDivided, which is dedicated to the distribution of statewide news and is registered and taxed as a media company within the state of Washington.
Both were allegedly initially denied “hard” press passes earlier in the year into the Senate and on March 7 had to be invited by legislators to cover the discussion on the floors of the House and the Senate.
After weeks of active dispute and the threat of legal action by the law firm representing both Choe and Kruse, in March, the CCA returned press credential control back to the legislature.
Cornfield in a statement to the Lynnwood Times shared that because of the “ongoing threat of litigation” from Kruse and Choe, “we respectfully decline the invitation to comment at this time.”
Changes to “Rule 10: Admission to the Senate” adopted on Wednesday added “the wings” as areas the sergeant at arms to restrict access. Members of the press can still access “the wings” but must be accompanied by a sitting senator or member of the senator’s staff.
Members of the press will still be allowed to access the Senate gallery and on a first-come basis the Senate floor’s press table.
To what he calls the “Choe-Kruse Rule,” Choe in a statement to the Lynnwood Times regarding the rule change responded, “Why are these lawmakers afraid of questions?”
“From a journalist’s standpoint, we should all have access and close access to hold our legislators accountable,” Choe said. “That is what journalists are supposed to do, that is why we are the Fourth Estate.”
The rule change will only be for the remainder of the 2025 legislative session that ends on April 27, unless a special or extraordinary session is convened by the Governor or the legislature. The reasoning behind this rule change was to maintain decorum and minimize disturbance or disorderly conduct within the chamber.
“The Capitol Correspondents Association was so opposed to giving me a press pass, they abdicated more than 50 years of control and handed it off to the very politicians we’re supposed to be holding accountable,” Kruse wrote in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “It took a matter of days for politicians to use that power to limit press access to the wings, where reporters have been allowed for as long as I can remember.
She added that in the CCA’s effort to “shut out” independent media like her and Choe, “legacy media ended up hurting themselves and – in turn – their readers and viewers.”
“Regardless of your politics, we should be able to agree that the more people who can do the hard work of holding our elected officials accountable, the better,” wrote Kruse. Ultimately, the question is simple: Are you on the side trying to limit access, or the side fighting to expand it?”
Choe is widely known for his direct approach to journalism, asking questions to elected officials on the spot as they shuffle between meetings or events. Kruse, who has been covering legislation from Olympia, has interviewed high-profiled legislators on her daily online show, unDivided.
“There is a tradeoff between a broad definition of ‘press’ (which we elected to use) and making sure that the Senate can do its work without the threat of having folks use that open process to organize demonstrations or otherwise interfere with the Senate’s business,” said Pedersen.
The Lieutenant Governor, who is responsible under the Senate Rules for enforcing the rules and maintaining decorum in the chamber, Pedersen continued, “established a process by which self-identifying members of the press can fill out an online form agreement to receive a press pass. The agreement requires the individual to attest to being a member of the press, provide contact information for themself and their organization, and agree to abide by Senate rules of decorum.”
Pedersen hopes to have a more robust press pass process for a future session.
“I like many other Republicans was a ‘no,’” Senator Keith Wagoner (R-Sedro Woolley) told the Lynnwood Times.
Senator Jeff Wilson (R-Longview) shared during floor discussion that the rule change is an afront to what he called a “Free Press.”
“I do understand control,” Senator Wilson said. “I do understand to apply these will simply make it somewhat easier. But I’m going to go back to the words Free Press…. I’m really hoping that we can preserve that.”
Senator Wilson added that to treat the members of the press as “something more to usher through and to shuttle through quickly without the fear of press police” is a disservice to legislators and residents.
“Just for that common conversation that in my first five years…has proved to be an effective way that I represent my district,” he said.
However not all Republicans were against the new rule. Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia) who supported the rule change, clarified with the Lynnwood Times that with the new rule now allows each Party’s caucus the authority to grant access to the wings on their Party’s side as opposed to a single “gatekeeper” for the entire legislative press pass process.
“I believe strongly in the legislative process being open and transparent to the press, which includes those who cover the Legislature for non-traditional news outlets that have been unable to obtain session press passes,” Senator Braun wrote to the Lynnwood Times. “The impetus behind this resolution was to expand the criteria for qualifying as ‘press.’ We also wanted to simplify the process of getting the pass, which is why people can now apply online.”
The rule’s sponsor, Senator Dhingra (D-Redmond) during floor debate shared that with the rule change the process is now more inclusive allowing all members of the press, including those who self-identify as press, to have a seat at the press table, reinforcing Braum’s statement to the Lynnwood Times.
“The press is fundamental to our work here and we look forward to working with the press, open government advocates and all others who have an interest in transparent government and a robust press to a more permanent solution to the credentialing of press this interim,” said Senator Dhingra.
Santor Braun, immediately after yesterday’s vote adopting the new Senate rule, sent a letter to Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate, requesting for established members of the press corps to be granted blanket access and not be reliant on weekly requests for temporary press passes to the Chamber.
Editor’s Note: Article updated 7:06 p.m., March 27, 2025, to include a statement from Jerry Cornfield.
Author: Mario Lotmore
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