Reporter barred from talking to crowd at rally
When a Maneater reporter covers any sort of event, the assigning editor will encourage them to not only speak to organizers and speakers, but also to talk to people who attended the event. We want to have real people represented in the pages of our news sections, not just officials and politicians.
This Tuesday, when Maneater reporter Brendan Gibbons went to Belton to cover an appearance by presidential candidate John McCain, he spoke to audience members who happened to be standing near the designated press area. Without leaving the designated area, he interviewed one person who was standing next to it. In the middle of a second interview, an event volunteer told him he wasn't allowed to speak to people in the crowd. Gibbons was able to interview one supporter before the man entered the rally.
Other reporters have made similar complaints at events, including The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, who alleged Secret Service agents have prevented reporters from leaving the press area at rallies for McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, at the request of the campaign. The Secret Service told Propublica, a non-profit investigative journalism newsroom, that its agents don't work with the campaign to limit access to people at events, but that the agency will sometimes keep members of the press who have credentials for the event separate from the general public for security reasons.
But Gibbons didn't leave the area designated for the press. And while it's easy to explain away the encounter as a miscommunication between organizers and event staff, the prohibition keeps The Maneater from providing meaningful context to a story that without it would be no better than a transcript.
