Kansas Senate leadership’s decision to bar reporters from the floor during debate should trouble everyone who values a free and fair press in the Sunflower State. In Iowa, for example, the state senate has done the same thing as Kansas — evicting reporters from the floor, where they had co-existed more or less peacefully with legislators for more than 140 years. “The position allows reporters to see and hear everything clearly on the Senate floor and to get real-time answers and clarifications during debates.”Both states have launched a coordinated attack on accurate information. The Republican National Committee has gotten into the act too, according to The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman. What’s happened in Kansas, Iowa and on the national stage will make that tougher.

Source: New York Times January 14, 2022 19:41 UTC