Even though both Bruce and I have been cleared by the Secret Service to cover presidential campaign events, that’s NOT good enough for Hizzoner;
Mayor Mike Huether doesn’t think a having a blog and a Youtube channel makes someone a legitimate journalist, but industry professionals say it’s not his place to decide.
There is NO licensing process or test to become a journalist. The rules are pretty simple;
While the mayor doesn’t take questions from Danielson at press conferences, South Dakota Newspaper Association Dave Bordewyk said Danielson and anyone seeking information from their government have just as much right to attend press conferences and make any inquiries as reporters from established media sources. And if a citizen plans to convey the information they gather to others, they’re a journalist.
“Thankfully we don’t live in a country where the journalists have to be licensed, you don’t have to apply to be a journalist in America still,” he said.
Bordewyk said public officials can pick and choose which media members and citizens they acknowledge, but, ideally, no member of a community would be shunned from participating.
“You would hope those in government would error on the side of casting a wide net in terms of allowing anyone to ask questions,” he said. “Press conferences are a pretty public event after all.”
I don’t think the mayor looks at it as a ‘public event’ he looks at it as ‘his event’ and a time to spread his ‘positive’ propaganda.