Two days after Tom Tiffany said he believes in an open, free press that’s able to ask politicians questions, the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s campaign blocked two Journal Sentinel reporters from attending a news conference in Milwaukee.
Reporters posted video of a Tiffany aide refusing to allow the reporters, including Mary Spicuzza, to attend Thursday’s veterans’ roundtable.
A Tiffany spokesperson called Spicuzza a “liberal activist” and said she was notified yesterday she wouldn’t be permitted to attend. The spokesperson pointed out a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer and other media outlets were at the event, and the campaign welcomes “balanced journalists from across Wisconsin.”
Spicuzza wrote a story last month detailing how Tiffany and his former business hadn’t paid state taxes in multiple years. She also jointly wrote a story in July detailing concerns about Mandela Barnes’ behavior toward women. The former lieutenant governor dropped out of the race for the Dem gubernatorial nomination the same day the story ran.
Journal Sentinel Executive Editor Greg Borowski told the paper in a story it published on the incident that the newsroom was committed to covering the campaigns fairly.
“When our reporters cover campaigns and attend political events, they are there on behalf of the public,” he said. “Blocking them blocks the public from vital information.”
Following his speech to the Wisconsin Counties Association on Tuesday, Tiffany was asked about President Donald Trump’s decision to ban several media outlets from the White House. Tiffany said he didn’t plan on doing something similar if elected governor.
“So, yeah, I believe in open, free press, that they be able to ask us questions,” Tiffany said. “The principle that I live with is that I just expect all of you to be fair. And as long as you’re fair in your writing, I always welcome the press here. It’s when the press is slanted, that’s what’s frustrating. But, yeah, we’re going to have, I mean, even when the press has been slanted, as we’ve seen with the Journal Sentinel, with some of their stories, we still have them here today.”
State Dem Party spokesperson Emily Stuckey slammed Tiffany for blocking Spicuzza from today’s event, saying it was “absolutely disqualifying for Congressman Tiffany to continue to follow Trump’s example and ban the free press.”