The chairs of the Congressional Periodical and Daily Press galleries Tuesday are urging the Republican National Convention Committee to change its decision to charge an access fee for covering the 2016 Republican National Convention (Cleveland, July 18-21).
The plan is to charge the press $150 for a seat on the press risers, which previously have been gratis.
Reporters who don't pay will still be allowed into the Quicken Loans Arena, but "the vantage points they will be given will not allow them to follow convention proceedings, gain access to the convention floor to interview public officials, nor file stories on the event," said Heather Rothman, chair, executive committee, of Periodical Correspondents, and Jonathan Salant, chair of the Standing Committee of Correspondents.
"We urge the RNCC to follow the precedent of previous conventions of both parties and drop plans for an access fee so the press can continue to inform the public about a major news event," they said in a statement.
