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Missouri Senate evicts Capitol news media from press table

Fish-eye view of the Mo. Senate chamber.  The press table is near the upper left hand side of the photo.
Senate Communications
Fish-eye view of the Mo. Senate chamber. The press table is near the upper left hand side of the photo.

Members of the news media who regularly cover the Missouri Senate will soon be doing so from another location.

The Senate voted 26-4 Thursday to bar members of the press from the floor of the Senate, including use of a table that has been reserved for reporters for decades.  The new rule takes effect March 29.

The move is the result of an incident last year, when at least one reporter sitting at the press table overheard a conversation between two senators and then posted portions of that conversation on Twitter.  The post was then re-tweeted by a few other reporters.

Fish-eye view of the Mo. Senate chamber.  The press table is near the upper left hand side of the photo.
Credit Senate Communications
Fish-eye view of the Mo. Senate chamber. The press table is near the upper left hand side of the photo.

President Pro-tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, sponsoredthe resolution and admitted during floor debate and afterward to reporters that he was still angry over the incident, calling it a violation of the media's code of ethics.

Reporters assigned seats at the press table will be moved upstairs to the 4th floor gallery.  St. Louis Public Radio's Marshall Griffin is among those being moved from the current Senate press table.

In addition, the press table will be turned over to staff members who assist senators with bills and amendments.

Photographers, however, will still be allowed on the Senate floor, and Richard said that accommodations will be made for reporters with physical disabilities.

The brief debate and vote can be heard below:

Audio of discussion and vote to remove press from Senate floor

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.