We reject the free speech-trampling rules set by J.D. Vance and DeSantis for covering their rally

[JoanofArgh]

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=ZDLg0kewi5qZuKEAXHPnuA


Letter from the editor :

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate in 2024, scheduled a trip to Ohio Friday to stump for Senate candidate J.D. Vance, and our reporters were not there because of ridiculous restrictions that DeSantis and Vance placed on anyone covering the event.

The worst of the rules was one prohibiting reporters from interviewing attendees not first approved by the organizers of the event for DeSantis and Vance. When we cover events, we talk to anyone we wish. It’s America, after all, the land of free speech. At least that’s America as it exists today. Maybe not the America that would exist under DeSantis and Vance.


Think about what they were doing here. They were staging an event to rally people to vote for Vance while instituting the kinds of policies you’d see in a fascist regime. A wannabe U.S. Senator, and maybe a wannabe president.

Another over-the-top rule was one reserving the right to receive copies of any video shot of the event for promotional use. That’s never okay. News agencies are independent of the political process. We do not provide our work product to anyone for promotional use. To do so would put us in league with people we cover, destroying our credibility.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/we-reject-the-free-speech-trampling-rules-set-by-jd-vance-and-ron-desantis-for-covering-their-rally-letter-from-the-editor.html