Watchdogs flee Springfield
continued from page 19

bureau chief, Scott Reeder.

“What’s happening in Statehouse pressrooms across the nation would best be described as a tragedy,” Reeder says, about bureau closures and layoffs. He says the changes have “created a void in need of filling. Nonprofits such as Illinois Statehouse News are just part of that answer.”

ISN, which produces free audio, video and print reports for any outlet that wants them, sought inclusion last year in the Illinois Legislative Correspondents Association, which represents print and broadcast newspersons covering the General Assembly and Illinois government, but was denied membership as well as designated press room office space.

ILCA president Ray Long, the Chicago Tribune’s Statehouse bureau chief, says the organization denied ISN membership because it lacked a track record. He says the association is now determining how nonprofits like ISN fit in. In the meantime, the ILCA has temporarily capped membership as it reviews its bylaws.

Rich Miller – an ILCA member, the author of a syndicated column that runs in Illinois Times, and owner of Capitol Fax, an insider’s newsletter and blog detailing Illinois politics – says his business has grown “exponentially” since he started it in the early 1990s but says Capitol Fax was never intended for a general audience but to supplement regular news coverage for the benefit of “political junkies.”

“For them [traditional news outlets] to be cutting coverage is not only shortsighted but greed-based and moronic,” Miller says, pointing to the state’s budget deficit, imprisoned Gov. George Ryan and impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich. “On a citizen level and a journalistic level, I’m just appalled by it.”

Long remains optimistic. “I think that we’re just probably hitting the nadir and are about to climb back up,” he says. “I believe that journalism is in the recovery mode and that will translate into more Statehouse reporters. … Every news organization understands that there has to be keen observance of a major legislative body like the Illinois General Assembly.”

Wheeler says that, going forward, news organizations must recognize that covering Statehouse action is a duty. “I would hope that the people who are in charge of these media properties would think about …some of the responsibilities that come with the First Amendment, freedom of the press privilege and realize that there is a certain responsibility they have to serve as the eyes and ears of their readers … and keep track of what’s going on in state government. And you really can’t do it from a distance.”

Contact Rachel Wells at [email protected].