JEFFERSON CITY • In one of their first acts of 2016, members of the Missouri Senate voted 26-4 Thursday to kick members of the statehouse press corps from their longtime table on the floor of the chamber.
Republican leaders initially said the move was needed to create more space for staff members, but Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard later admitted he was still angry after an incident last year in which a private conversation between senators was posted to a social media site by an individual sitting at the press table.
“Some of the press violated the code of ethics by tweeting out discussions between senators. The Senate floor, that’s our space. That’s not your space,” he told reporters.
The move came just days after more than 100 members of the House and Senate called for the ouster of University of Missouri communications professor Melissa Click in response to her controversial decision last fall to try and block a reporter from interviewing students who were protesting on campus.
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Richard, R-Joplin, said it would be wrong to compare him to Click, who later apologized and resigned a post she held in the Mizzou school of journalism.
“I understand there’s social media making me look like some of the ladies in the journalism school that turned away the press. I don’t think that’s the case. I thought that was a breach of your responsibility,” Richard said.
Republican state Sen. Ryan Silvey of Kansas City acknowledged the move was stirring controversy among reporters who cover the Legislature.
“I see Press is upset about being moved off the Senate Floor.” Silvey . “Important to remember, they don’t sit on Floor in U.S. Sen/House or MO House.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens weighed in against the move.
“Legislators do not need a private ‘safe space.’ This is absurd,” Greitens tweeted.
State Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Kansas City, that Click should be hired as a Senate doorkeeper.
“The floor of the Senate is now a safe space,” LaFaver said.
Senate rules do not address a code of conduct for reporters who choose to sit at the table, located near the front of the Senate chamber.
But, said Senate Republican spokeswoman Lauren Hieger, “I just think its an ethical question. Not all conversations are meant to be public.”
Moving the press wasn’t the only change in Senate policy regarding access to senators.
Typically, reporters flag down individual senators for interviews upon adjournment for the day. Hieger issued a directive last week asking reporters to stop the long-held practice.
“Please do not try to catch them on the floor without letting someone know first,” she said in the memo.
The move won’t take place immediately. Senate administrators plan to renovate an upper gallery to serve as the new press area. It is expected to be finished by late March.
“It will be a nice spot for you,” Richard told reporters.
The four “no” votes were cast by Democratic state Sens. Jason Holsman of Kansas City, Jamilah Nasheed of Ƶ, Jill Schupp of Creve Coeur and Scott Sifton of Affton.
(Updated Jan. 11 to clarify new Senate interview guidelines.)